Mage Tales 1: The Discovery
by Timid Vulpine
Summary: After "Quest for Booty". Ratchet is searching for Clank with Talwyn's help. But when a mysterious woman, as well as Talwyn's old friends, arrive, things start getting a little crazy. Little surprise in here, M for safety, may have strong language.
1. Chapter 1

Hi hi, everyone,

OK, I know I haven't been updating my other stories. Here are some reasons: 1) I have loads of coursework. 2) I have exams this year. 3) I've actually gone and lost the USB pen I save my chapters onto.

So I'm sorry. Is that a cry of, "Why are you writing this instead of finding the fecking thing then" I hear in the distance? No? Well, I'm still gonna tell you.

I've been playing a lot of Ratchet and Clank recently, and I think that it's impossible for Tachyon to be telling the truth at the end of TOD. It isn't plausible that the ENTIRE Lombax population was on Fastoon. They had lives too, y'know.

I'm just telling you all this so no-one tries to bite my head of with evil, harsh remarks about, "Ooh, it said this in the game" or, "You've got it wrong. It happens like this." Please, no flames, my first for Ratchet and Clank.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ratchet and Clank, nor do I own any planets, characters, weapons, or anything else recognisable in any of the games.

Bye byes,

Timid Vulpine.

Oh, and P.S. A couple of quick things: 1) This is set after Quest for Booty, and 2) I've given up on naming chapters.

* * *

Ratchet stormed out of the cave that housed the Obsidian Eye, only to be grabbed from behind. He turned round, expecting to see Talwyn. Instead, the Smuggler had a firm grip on his shoulder, with Talwyn just catching up.

"Hold on, now, friend," he said. "You may be interested in what my... co-worker has to say."

Ratchet looked at the parrot, who was, as usual, on the Smuggler's shoulder. It squawked at him. "AWK! Not me, pal. AWK! Behind you, behind you. The psycho behind you. AWK!"

Before he could turn, an arrow flew over Ratchet's shoulder, clipping the parrot's wing, causing the thing to take flight and roost in a nearby palm tree. The projectile was followed by a silky-smooth, heavily-accented female voice. "Shut up, you mangy, good-f'r-nothin', sad excuse for a feather duster," she spat, "before I turn you into tonight's main course!" The Lombax turned to the bird's attacker.

She looked like she was a cross-breed between a human and a Markazian, almost as tall as the Smuggler. Her elegant frame was covered by a tribal-looking green poncho, blue three-quarter lengths, a pail yellow t-shirt and brown boots. Her dirty blonde hair was adorned with all sorts of beads, in bright colours. The only thing that broke the caramel skin of her face were her intelligent grey eyes.

In her hand was a lethal looking longbow, and on he back was a quiver full of arrows like the one she'd just fired. She was obviously not someone to be messed with.

"My name is Fenna. You are a Lombax, yes? Not a cross-breed like dat Angela Cross, 'ight?"

Ratchet blinked. "As far as I'm aware." _Angela? She's a cross-breed? With what?_

"Good." Fenna said. "Not dat I'd think any less of you if you **were**a cross-breed. But dat's not de point. You ain't the only Lombax left in this dimension."

"Well, yeah, there's Ang-"

"Not what I mean. I mean a pure-bred, Fastoon born Lombax. Just like you."

Ratchet shook his head. "Tachyon said-"

"Dere was a colony called Pandora in the Drogol Sector. A Lombax colony. Tachyon attacked it just after his assault on Fastoon, but-"

Ratchet cut her off. "Look, I'm sure you mean well. And I'm sure you believe whatever information you've been given. But I don't have time to listen to rumours." With that, he barged past her, muttering, "I've got a friend who needs rescuing."

Talwyn wasn't as rude. She turned to Fenna and smiled apologetically "I'm sorry about him. He's a bit pre-occupied."

Fenna just shrugged. "S'okay. I've gotten used to havin' people givin' me de cold shoulder. An' he's 'ight. His friend needs a rescue. De Zoni aren't the well-meanin'... things they try to come across as to strangers."

"Wait, how do you know that the Zoni took Clank?"

"I have my sources." Fenna turned and walked towards the small, dart-shaped ship that was parked on the beech. "Good luck, miss."

Talwyn just stood there. _Who is that woman really? Is she telling the truth? Did other Lombaxes survive? And what are the Zoni really? This doesn't make any sense..._

"Talwyn!" Ratchet's yell snapped her out of her confusing thoughts and got her running to the small skiff they'd been using.

* * *

Ratchet was silent for the entire trip back to the ships. That worried Talwyn. In all the time she'd known him, he had never been silent for this long when aggravated. He always said something, but this time, he just leaned on the rail, staring angrily at the waves. When they arrived back to where'd they'd left Talwyn's ship (and where Aphelion had fallen back to), she was almost scared to disturb him.

"Ratchet," She placed her hand gently on his shoulder. "We're here."

He looked up and saw the worry, permeated with fear, in her eyes. He instantly softened a little, smiling sadly, his eyes holding a wordless apology. Talwyn squeezed his shoulder comfortingly, causing his expression to strengthen. _We're going to find him_ was the silent message that passed between the two, before they disembarked.

* * *

"Miss Apogee!" A very exited Zephyr was jumping up and down, waving his arms. "Miss Apogee!"

"Sorry that took so long, Zephyr," Talwyn said as she deactivated her jet pack, landing next to him. "What's wrong? Did Cronk's head come off again?"

"No. Well, yes, but not just that," Zephyr whispered.

"What's going on?" Ratchet asked as he approached them.

"They just turned up yesterday, and they won't leave!" Zephyr whined. "Well, the one in white almost did, but the other girl wouldn't let her."

"Who won't leave, Zephyr?" Talwyn asked.

"Well well, lookie who it is." A Markazian girl, around Talwyn's height and age, stepped out from behind Ratchet's ship. Her short-cut hair was pitch black, her skin was a dark tan colour, and her eyes were reddish-brown. She wore a black, wrap-around, armoured top with short arms, matching black trousers, black platform boots, and fingerless gloves (need I say that they're black?); attached to her hip was a black scabbard that held a katana. Her voice was slightly deeper than Talwyn's, maybe an octave or so, and tinged with amusement. "The elusive Talwyn Apogee. Take a picture, folks. You only see this legendary creature once in a blue moon."

Another Markazian girl stepped around the ship. It was obvious that these girls were twins. They looked the same, only the second had longer hair, tied into a loose ponytail, and she had glasses. The armour she wore was similar to the set that Sasha had worn last time Ratchet had seen her, only in white, with more pockets and holsters. "Stop teasing her, will you? It's not her fault she's terminally shy!"

"Kai? Tessa?" Talwyn stared for a moment before moving forward and hugging them both. "Oh my God! I haven't seen you two in AGES!"

"Well, that's your fault for disappearing for months at a time."

Ratchet just watched and wondered. Was she still going to help him? Or were these girls stealing her away?

Talwyn turned to him. "Ratchet, this is Kai," the one in black, "and Tessa Swordsmith," the one in white. "I've known them since I was ten!"

"Hi." Tessa seemed so cheery at that moment, he couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, hi." Kai quickly brushed him off and turned this pleading look on Talwyn. "Listen, we need a hand-"

"No," Talwyn cut her off. "Kai, I can't just drop everything and help you. I've got a prior commitment."

Ratchet's ears perked up at this point. He was glad, but that was tinged with a sense of guilt. Of course Talwyn was going to help him. She had promised.

Kai looked thoughtful. "Where are you going?"

"The Breegus Nebula"

"That's where we need the help. What're you doing?"

"Getting back a friend."

"From who?"

"Does it matter?"

"Alright, alright." Kai put her hands up in defeat. "Here's the deal: we'll help you, then you help us. No strings attached."

"Just tell us who we're up against," Tessa added.

Talwyn looked back at Ratchet. After all, it was his mission. "What do you think?"

Ratchet was already in is ship. "Whatever. Just don't slow us down." With that, he shut the canopy and fired up the engines.

"Sorry about him," Talwyn said, after the wind of Aphelion's passage had died down. "His friend is **really** important t him."

"No problem," Tessa brushed it off.

Kai clapped her hands and rubbed them together. "Now," she said, "who're we up against?"

"Dr. Nefarious," Talwyn bit her lip. Should she act on her suspicions and mention it, risking Ratchet's anger? Clank had trusted them. Or leave it out and risk them getting ambushed? Maybe the girls had heard of them? Maybe they'd think she was crazy for thinking they were the enemy, or for thinking of going up against them.

_Oh stuff it! Let's be on the safe side._ "And maybe..." Bite.

"The Zoni."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi hi,

Well, that's it. What do ya think? Please R&R. But no flames, please.

I've given up on finding the blue thingy, I've bought a new orange one. I'll try and find the old one at some point.

Well, I'll try and get the next chapter up as soon as I can.

Bye byes,

Timid Vulpine.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi hi, everyone,

Thanks to .x. Charlotte .x. for being the ONLY ONE that reviewed this time. We like having Fenna kill the parrot. And NO! Ratchet and Clank will NOT be having romantic feelings for each other!

Well, I've run out of things to say, so,

Bye byes,

Timid Vulpine.

* * *

Aphelion's engines were the only sound that broke the otherwise complete silence inside her cockpit. Ratchet had a few silent tears still lodged in his fur, and the sentient vessel didn't want to send him back into a full blown crying fit.

Ratchet felt like an emotional mess. He was the only Lombax left in this dimension, he was still a virgin, not that he'd admit it, though it bugged him at points and now, these insect things, the Zoni, had stolen Clank. He was lonely, and depressed, and almost wanted to curl up and die.

Suddenly, Aphelion made an announcement. "Incoming message from Talwyn."

Ratchet regained his composure and opened the link. "Hey, Talwyn. What's up?"

"Are you all right, Ratchet?"Asked a very worried-looking Tessa. "You look upset."

"Oh, I didn't know this was a multi-link comn..." Ratchet wasn't too happy about that. He sighed and stretched. "Yeah, I'm fine."

The girls, though dubious, seemed to relax at this. Talwyn turned to the twins. "So, why did you ask for my help? You've done loads of dangerous things. What makes this so..."

"Different?" Tessa suggested.

"Exactly."

"It's simple," Kai waved a hand vaguely. "One, we knew where you were for the first time in months. And two, we haven't done anything this dangerous as this since the last time we got together."

"You mean you haven't done anything more dangerous than get chased, first by a tribe of cannibals, then by a giant lizard, like we did three years ago." Talwyn shook her head. "I don't believe it."

"Does that happen often?" Ratchet asked.

"That's not all," Kai stressed. "The genius," she pointed at her twin, "managed to get stuck in quicksand! Then she screamed and triggered a rock slide!"

"Hey!" Tessa crossed her arms over her chest. "With that rock slide, I stopped us getting eaten!"

"Yeah, and almost got us crushed!"

"I can't believe your taking her side, Tal!"

"Oh, grow up, Tess! I don't really mean it. I'm just joking."

"Excuse me," Ratchet butted in, "but I feel a bit left out here..."

"Sorry Ratchet," Talwyn said.

"Don't be, you haven't seen your friends in years. Just," he leant forward slightly, "can we leave it until we've got Clank back, AND helped your friends?"

A small grin found it's way onto the brunettes lips. "All right then, Ratchet." _That means he's gonna stick around for a bit._

Kai cleared her throat. "Actually, we've been talking."

Ratchet rolled his eyes and sighed. "Of course you have."

"Yes we have. And it turns out your friend is being held in the very facility that we've been sent to take down. Which means," Kai grinned, "we're gonna kill two bugs with one stone."

"I just hope you like fireworks," commented a suddenly giggling Tessa.

* * *

Clank's eyes were closed. Why had he suddenly woken up and started talking about bees and bonnets? That was illogical.

The last thing he remembered before that was the Zoni zapping him, which led to a full system reboot. Those random words must have been to check his vocal systems were working. _But why shock me in the first place?_

When he opened his eyes, he was stood a what passed for a typical, if somewhat small, room on Veldin. Tools were scattered in little heaps on the floor, Captain Quark posters hung from the walls, and there were comic books and music files were in disarrayed heaps. In the corner was a small bed, with a radio on the table next to it. Plugged into the radio by a pair of headphones... was Ratchet.

At least, it seemed to be Ratchet. Yes, he was a few years younger than when Clank first met him, but he had the same colouring, and the same emerald eyes. He was bobbing his head to the beat of a song as he chewed the end of his pencil, obviously stuck on a question.

The young Lombax started mumbling something. "If _y_ equals _x_ squared minus half _x_, what does _y_ equal when _x_ is six..." Maths, obviously. "Six squared..."

"Thirty six," Clank said, automatically.

"...Thirty six!" Ratchet scribbled down the working, mumbling. "And half six is three... thirty three!"

A sudden banging on the door startled Clank, but Ratchet wasn't bothered. He was plugged into his music. The door opened and a tall, female Blarg burst in.

"Ratchet? Come on,"she walked over to the bed, "it's time to get ready for bed. Ratchet?" The woman was getting angry now. "**Ratchet**! Why aren't you **listening** to me?!"

She yanked the plug out of the radio. The room was filled with music. "...**we're the baddest of the bad, the coolest of the cool-**" She turned it off.

"**Hey**!" Ratchet turned on the woman, angry. "What did you do that for?!"

"You'll wreck your ears if you listen to your music that loud," The woman turned back towards the door. Her voice was shaky. "Now get ready for bed. You can listen to your music, **quietly**, for five minuets after that."

"Geez, stop acting like you're my mother."

"Believe it or not, Ratchet, I **am** your mother."

"You will **never** be my mother!" The young Lombax was stood there, obviously angry.

The woman stopped by the door. Slowly, with shaking hands, she closed and bolted it. Out of her pocket, she drew a taser. Ratchet's face filled with fear as the woman approached him again.

Clank closed his eyes before the screaming started. _Why do I have to watch this?_

Suddenly, the screams turned into laughter. When Clank opened his eyes again, Ratchet was playing catch with a girl around his age. Brown eyes, brown hair, pale skin, thick-rimmed glasses, nothing special. But he seemed to be having a good time with her.

The girl suddenly threw the ball at Ratchet's head. Hard. "Vanessa!" She started giggling. He looked at her with a stubborn expression. "You can go and get that!"

"'Kay 'kay, Ratty," the little girl, obviously Vanessa, had a flute-like voice. She skipped over and got the ball. "I'm sorry, Ratty. I know Zara hurts you..."

"Where the Hell did that crazy lady get a taser!" He threw the ball at a nearby wall. "She keeps telling me that she's my mother!"

"Nonsense! For a start," she caught the ball before it bounced away, "she's not even the same species as you!"

"I know..." Ratchet wrapped his arms around Vanessa's waist. "You're my best friend, you know that Nessy?" The girl stood on tiptoes and kissed the Lombax on his lips. Clank could feel the tenderness of the moment. Then he did something almost unwise.

He blinked.

* * *

When Clank's eyes opened again, he was back inside the Zoni fortress, in the glass capsule. The Zoni were floating around, looking at him, saying nothing.

Velvet insanity in the form of words came from behind him. "He don't look so ultra-mega-super special. Why do we need 'im?"

"Because, dearest Zee," said the collective voice of the Zoni, "we need a transference key, so the transformation can be completed. We also need the three Death Skulls, so we may break our bonds, and return to power." They floated around to the tall, blue-haired woman, dressed entirely (if scantily) in blue. She hummed in contentment as the Zoni brushed past her skin.

"Wonderful..." she purred. Then her eyes opened.

What Clank saw made him doubt that his optical sensors were working properly. Her eyes were a lucid blue. Bottomless blue. Not just the irises, but the pupils too.

The Zoni left. The woman spoke. "Hello there, little itty-bitty key. My name is Zee, if you hadn't already guessed."

"An unusual name." Clank stated.

Zee's face slowly took on the most terrifyingly crazed expression Clank had ever seen. "I has a question for yooou," she said in a sing-song voice, spinning gently. "I did heard that some bots can feel pay-ain," she focused on Clank again. Then she whispered in a dangerous, low, serious tone...

"Can you feel pain?"

Before he could answer, the mortifying lady held out a hand, fingers strait and spread out, palm pointing at the little robot. Blue lightening launched from a small tattoo, which resembled a Zoni's head, on her the base of wrist, strait through the glass, and hit Clank.

It was excruciating pain for the small bot. It felt as if all his circuits were over-loading, but his central fuse was refusing to blow. He let out one long, wordless howl of pain, before his whole system crashed.

The last thing he heard before the inevitable reboot was Zee saying, with only mild interest, "I guess you can feel pain... cool."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hi hi,

No sleep in the past twenty-four hours or so. Not tired, but being forced to go to bed as soon as this is uploaded.

Bye byes,

Timid Vulpine.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi hi, all,

I'm gonna do reviews at the end. It's easier that way.

Bye byes,

Timid Vulpine

Ratchet leapt from the cockpit almost before the landing cycle had finished. He dashed over to the where the girls already were. Cronk and Zephyr were looking around, ready for attack.

"So, what're we waitin' for?" Kai was asking. She was now wearing black braces down the side of her face, connected by dark green glass. "If we hang around out here, we'll just get caught!"

"And you don't want to get caught," Tessa interjected. Her glasses now had lenses with the same dark green glass. "They have this phyco-girl in there with no boundaries to her imagination!"

The Lombax was about to talk when he spotted the building they were about to infiltrate. It looked like a great, sprawling monster, with it's great height and width. The main entrance looked like a giant, gaping maw, with giant, jagged bits of metal sticking out of the building around it. Ratchet silently thanked his lucky stars that they were going in through a side door. Or so he thought.

"Ratchet?" He turned at Talwyn spoke. "Are you sure about this? I'm sure they'd let him go if we asked nicely."

"Yeah right," Kai sneered, approaching them. "And I'm a bloke. Listen, Tow," She placed her hands on Talwyn's shoulders and looking her strait in the eye, " these THINGS, they're NOT friendly. You fall into their plans, or they zap you into submission. They don't like those who choose a different path, like me and Tes, and they especially don't like Lombaxes."

"That can't be true!" Ratchet said. "They helped me and Clank defeat the Cragmites!"

"The Cragmites were power-hungry back-stabbers, like the Zoni. They must've been betrayed by the Cragmites before, so they killed two birds with one stone, probably."

"Two birds?"

Kai shrugged. "Get rid of the Cragmites and win Clank's trust."

"But if they have Nefarious, like Tow said," Tessa's gaze didn't meet anyone's eyes, "Clank'll be disposable. That means that if he stands in the way of someone the Zoni think is more 'vital'..."

"He'll be turned into scrap metal," Kai finished, bluntly.

Ratchet looked at the building in horror. "We have to get him out of there!"

* * *

Clank's systems finished rebooting. It was the third time that day, and this time, he was determined not to open his eyes. He'd seen the same thing again after both system failure. Ratchet gets electrocuted by his step-mother. Ratchet plays catch with the girl. The girl kisses Ratchet. It was getting a little annoying.

Suddenly, he heard a small laugh. The little robot's eyes shot open.

It was a little Lombax girl. She couldn't have been more than ten. She was sat cross-legged on a cobblestone street, fiddling with what looked like a pogo stick and some rockets. Clank wanted to step forward and take the tools from the girl's hands, but he knew he was merely an observer here.

The Lombax looked at her creation, a twinkle in her eyes that reminded the robot of the many exciting (but dangerous) adventures he had had with Ratchet over the years. She stood, and was about to try out the dangerous-looking contraption...

...When a soft voice behind her said, "Excuse me, miss."

The child jumped, turning to see a small golden china doll-like robot, with hair (A.N: I know robots don't have hair, but that's the only way I can think of describing it) slightly below the shoulders and glowing amber eyes. It – no, she - came up to the girl's chin.

The small robot continued, "I believe those rockets are insecurely fastened. If you were to use it now, the rockets would merely fly off in different directions, possibly injuring someone."

The girl looked at the robot, then at the modified pogo stick. "Huh," she said. "You're right. Thanks!" She beamed at the robot, who seemed confused, then went to work securing the propulsion.

Seemingly satisfied that the Lombax wouldn't hurt anyone, the robot turned to leave. Then she stopped, looking over her shoulder. Then she pulled out a piece of paper. For a good few minutes, she looked between the paper and the girl. Then, sighing, she dropped the paper down the drain and went back to the girl. "Would you like some assistance?"

The girl grinned. "Oh yes please! The whole 'two heads are better and one' thing."

The two set two work on the dangerous-looking contraption, and Clank blinked in wonder.

When his eyes opened again, he was in the glass dome, alone. He couldn't help but wonder what happened to the two figures in his mind. Did the girl go with the other Lombaxes? And what about the little robot?

Suddenly, the PA (Public Announcement) System blared a message from someone who sounded much kinder and saner than Zee.

"Testing, testing. One two three four five. Good, it's working. This is Tessa Sword smith! Just thought I'd educate your musical tastes with 'Numa Numa'! This is a pre-recorded message that we've set up just outside your main entrance, so no point in trying to find us!" The song started, soon followed by the Zoni's loud protests.

* * *

Ratchet shook his head. He'd just overheard the PA message and just playing them a song, even one like 'Numa Numa', didn't sound like a very good idea. They wanted the door open, not dancing Zoni.

That was one thing he wasn't too sure of: walking through the front door. Not only was it stupid from a military perspective, the mere thought of walking under and around those giant teeth struck fear into his very soul.

Tessa was blushing slightly. "Do I really sound like that?"

Talwyn shook her head and rolled her eyes. "How'll this get the door open, Kai?"

"Just watch," Kai said. She looked like an Olympic runner, just waiting for the gun.

The plan was simple. Once they were in, they'd get into the ventilation system. Then, Talwyn and Kai would go one way and create a distraction, while Ratchet and Tessa would go in the other direction, find Clank, then split up. Ratchet would meet up with Talwyn and Kai, while Tessa planted demolition charged in the lower levels. Finally, they blow the font door off, get back to the ships, then detonate the charges.

Then it happened. The door opened, and music poured out, followed by a pale girl with blue hair dashed out, so fast Ratchet didn't get a look at her face. Kai growled under her breath, "Zee... little murdering bitch..."

Zee was shrieking. "Where that DISGUSTING noise COMING FROM?!" Obviously, she wasn't a music lover.

Then, the twins launched themselves forward, speeding through, followed by Ratchet and Talwyn.

They flattened themselves against a wall, directly underneath an air vent. Talwyn and Ratchet hoisted Kai up so she could undo the catches, while Tessa kept watch.

"Got it!" Kai slipped the vent cover inside, then sipped inside herself. She then pulled Talwyn up, while Ratchet got Tessa.

When the four of them were inside with the grate back in place, Kai grinned at them all. "All right, ladies and gent. That," she pointed back the way they came, " was the easy bit."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi hi!

I'm now going to be QUOTING my reviews, but with slight grammar and spell checking.

**Shakespeare's entourage**

I probably feel very negative because of me being tired but you have bad grammar. You used a "pail" of water when you meant "pale" skin.  
Still interesting story, and would be more interesting if i wasn't an R&C noob.

_Thank you for bringing this to my attention. But maybe you should work on doing simple things like, oh, I don't know, CAPITAL LETTERS AT THE BEGINING OF SENTENCES?! And if you didn't waist your time on the Xbox and bought a PS2, maybe you wouldn't be a noob. But thanks for the compliment._

**Kio**

Good story, bit short, butt good

_Not all good things have to be long, but this one isn't finished. Oh, and you used the wrong but. You said "butt", as in rear end. Sorry, I'm in the mood to complain about grammar._

All right, that's it. I hope you liked it, and don't be afraid to review.

Bye byes,

Timid Vulpine.


	4. Chapter 4

Hi hi,

I'm on a Sims high here! I've got The Sims 3 collectors edition! WOOP WOOP! Who's with me?

Now, back to the fanfic.

* * *

Talwyn and Kai were on their hands and knees, crawling through the ventilation shafts in an eastward direction. Talwyn was following her friend blindly, who seemed to have a vague idea of where she was going.

"It's too bloody cramped in here..." Kai sat up and took out a canteen of water from her belt, taking several gulps before offering it to Talwyn, who took it graciously.

"Thank you." Talwyn took a swig, then handed it back and wiping her mouth on her sleeve. "Not that I doubt you, Kai, but where the HELL are we going?"

"As far as we can," Kai clipped the canteen back in it's original place. "When we hit a dead end, we go back, find a vent, and get out of here so we can start the distraction."

Talwyn just nodded, then followed as Kai as she continued slide her way along.

* * *

"So, how old were you when you first became a hero?"

Ratchet stopped moving and looked back at Tessa. They'd abandoned the ventilation system when the Markazian fell through the second grate. Since then, she'd been asking him all sorts of things about his past. He'd managed to ignore her.

For all of about 5 minutes.

"Why are you so interested?!?" he snapped.

Tessa was so shocked and surprised, she stepped back and clasped her hands to her chest. "I... I just," she looked so dejected. "I want to know you... a little better... if we're gonna work with you."

Ratchet felt like his guilt had just grown legs and kicked him in the stomach. His ears drooped and his expression softened considerably. "Listen, I'm sorry. It's just... I'm stressed. I haven't stopped fighting for almost six months now, I'm..." he sighed and placed a hand on her arm. "I was seventeen when I first dubbed 'Galactic Hero'." He turned around and restarted his search for Clank.

Tessa smiled and caught up with him. "I stated fighting when I was five, but I wasn't called a hero until I was about nineteen. Not big time, not like you. Me and my sis just saved our town from a bunch of "Death of Creation" supporters. Otherwise known as the Zoi."

"What the hell are the Zoi?"

"A bunch of bastards who support the Zoni." Tessa stopped and poked her head around a door. "Anyway, what's Clank like on a daily basis?"

Ratchet flinched mentally, but didn't let his body falter. "He's smart, naive, which can be funny sometimes, kind and trusting. He's..." There was suddenly a large lump in the young Lombax's throat. He swallowed it, then wiped away the drops of water that had 'mysteriously' formed on his face. "He's my best friend."

Tessa placed a hand on Ratchet's shoulder and said, "Don't worry. We'll get him back. I can see that not even the Zoni can destroy the friendship between you two, and all they DO is destroy and kill."

"You know, that isn't all that comforting."

"Oh yeah, they're the ones who HAVE Clank. Sorry."

* * *

Clank had just finished rebooting. AGAIN! "I do not know how much more of this I can take..." he muttered.

"RATCHET!!!" A female voice yelled, startling Clank into opening his eyes.

It was Vanessa. True, she was taller, and true, she had started to develop... physically, but it was the same girl. She was rushing over the sand dunes of Veldin, obviously searching for Ratchet.

"Where is he," she mumbled. Her voice was more violin-like now. "He KNOWS there's something out here. The bodies are piling up, not a mark on 'em."

The disembodied voice of the Zoni floated to them from thin air. "Do you know why?"

Vanessa turned around, spooked. "Wh-who's there?!?"

The Zoni floated out from behind the surrounding dunes, looking sinister. But that wasn't what worried Clank the most. It was the fact that Vanessa was still frantically looking for them.

Suddenly, they shimmered and the poor girl jumped backwards and the sand under her feet gave way, dumping her on her backside. "Wh-what the h-HELL are YOU?!?"

"Your new masters..." Two Zoni secured her hands with electricity, another two secured her ankles, while four more huddled together an arms reach away.

Vanessa was writhing and moaning in pain under the Zoni's grip. The bonded areas were starting to smoulder, and Clank could see little wisps of smoke coming from her wrists.

A large, spectral blue hand shot from the group of four, and delved strait into the brunette's chest. She screamed as they started to pull something from her.

It was a glowing brown sphere of something. As it was pulled from her, Vanessa almost seemed to wilt, and the colour in her eyes started to fade.

Clank rushed forward to try and stop them...

...and was back in the glass case. No-one was there.

The little robot was afraid now. First the Zoni let Zee electrocute him into rebooting as much as she wanted, and now he'd just found out that they'd ripped out Ratchet's childhood friend's... _What was it?_ Clank wondered to himself. _It could not have been her heart, hearts do not look like that. No organ does. But it seemed like it was necessary for living._

A sound from above him roused him from his thoughts. "Kai, are you sure we're not lost?"

_That's Talwyn's voice!_ Clank said nothing and continued to listen.

"We're going EAST, Tow. You can't get lost when your going in a DIRECTION," Another voice, probably this Kai person (A.N: We already know that it is.), insisted.

Talwyn sighed. "Well, at least it's wider along here..."

"Tow, make sure you don't put any weight on that loose-"

Kai's warning was interrupted by Talwyn falling with a yell and landing with an 'oof' a few feet away from Clank's prison. A vent cover hung from the ceiling by only two catches.

"- great." Kai slid through the vent after her fallen friend, landing quite gracefully on her feet, and helped Talwyn up. "Congrats! You've just done a Tessa!" Both girls giggled, then Kai cocked her head. "Or did you pull your tail. That would make it a Scree."

Talwyn raised an eyebrow. "Who's Scree?"

"Doesn't matter right now," Kai turned towards Clank, still looking at the younger Markazian. "It's not like you'd believe me. She's kept out of the public eye for so long, no-one who knows about her would DARE tell about her, for fear of being a laughing stock! But I'll introduce you to her." Then added, under her breath, "If I can find her before you go disappearin' on us again."

The brunette turned to look at her dark haired friend. "You know, you'd be amazed what I believe in, thanks to Ratchet-"

"As much as I would like to know what Ratchet has done this time," Clank said, "would you mind getting me out of here first?"

"Clank!" Talwyn dashed over to the glass. "Are you all right?"

"I am now," Clank replied.

Kai laughed a very cynical laugh. "We sent Ratchet and Tessa the wrong way! They were supposed to be searching for him, we were supposed the distraction."

"Oh well," said Talwyn. "At least he's been found." She scratched the back of her ear. "Now all we have to do is get him out..."

"Leave that to me." Holding the scabbard with one hand and placing the other on the hilt, Kai drew her sword. It was a black hilted, platinum bladed katana, and a sharp one at that. Without so much as a word, she stabbed through the case.

Instead of shattering, the glass started to spider web. The cracks went everywhere, eventually making their way to the top and bottom, connecting in billions of places.

The sword wielder froze. The merest vibration would set it falling, which would set off the alarm that was bound to be connected to the case.

She spoke slowly and calmly to Talwyn. "I need you, to take my radio, tell Tessa we need Ratchet in the main room, pronto, and tell her to go set the charges..."

"I'm not stupid, Kai. And I have my own radio." Talwyn turned away and got in contact with Tessa and Ratchet.

* * *

_Nothing._ Ratchet was silently fuming. _We've searched the WHOLE east half, and what've we found? NOTHING!_ He punched a nearby wall, causing Tessa to squeak in surprise.

"Sorry," Ratchet said, cringing a little. "I'm just worried."

"Don't be," said Tessa. "It might just be that he's in the west half. Or we just missed the room. We make one more sweep of this half, then, if we don't find him, we contact Kai her-"

"- change of plans, guys." Talwyn's voice interrupted over the radio. "We've found Clank, but we need Ratchet back by the entrance. And Tessa needs to plant the charges. NOW!"

"See? He was in the west half," said Tessa. _Ironic or what?_ She thought to herself. Then she dashed over to the nearest vent and started undoing the catches.

"Is he OK?" Ratchet asked, rushing over to give the young Markazian a lift to the right height.

"He says he is," Talwyn replied. "But he does look a bit shaken. You may want to take a look at his central processor when you next get a chance."

"All right, it's open." With some help from the Lombax holding her up, Tessa scrambled through the vent. She then turned and helped Ratchet up, then pressed a pair of safety glasses.

Well, they LOOKED like safety glasses. Only they dark green glass, the exact same colour as Tessa's lenses.

"Put these on. They'll help you see the Zoni," Tessa said. "The little bastards like to sneak up on their enemies in Spirit Form. The glasses will give you the sight of a Seer."

Ratchet's brow furrowed. "Spirit Form? Seer?"

"I'll explain later. Right now, we need to get moving." The Markazian set off in one direction, while the Lombax went in the other, towards the first room. "Oh, and good luck!" She called over her shoulder.

"Thanks," Ratchet called back. _Lord knows I'll need it._

* * *

AUTHOR'S INPUT: Hi hi,

18kb. That's how much room this file takes up. Not much, is it?

ONTO THE REVIEWS!!!

**Tina Tissue:**

It's a pretty interesting story and I'm interested to where it will go but could you stop whining about not getting any reviews? Most people don't look at M rated fics so don't know if they existed.

_I'm glad you think the story is interesting. And I'm sorry for pestering for reviews. I just want to know what people like you think, that's all._

**Shakespeare's Entourage:**

Short but good.  
Two points though:  
1. Had a PS2. Sold it to buy a 360. Best decision I've ever made.  
2. Time you enjoyed wasting is not wasted time!

I bite my thumb at you!  
Shakespeare's entourage.

_I upload in smaller chunks because it's faster. And as for the generation three console argument, we've all ready settled the issue. All I'm gonna say about that is that I prefer the PS3 for two reasons:_

_1. I think Microsoft should stick to making computers, as they need to get better at doing that before diversifying, and,_

_2. From what I've seen, the PS3 has better graphics than the 360. Then again, I play it on a HD, wide-screen TV, while the only time I saw the 360 graphics was on a slightly crappy, old TV with a screen smaller screen than my monitor._

_The one thing we can safely agree on is that the Wii isn't the best. But I prefer it to the 360._

_Oh, and __this is just in answer to your review, so please don't start that argument up again._

That's about it. Oh, wait!

I've turned of the profanity filter, so if someone could say something that usually gets censored out in their review to test it out, that would be real helpful. Honest.

Now THAT is it. Thanks for reading what's been posted so far, I hope you haven't lost interest yet.

Bye byes,

Timid Vulpine.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi hi,

How's everyone? If you were wondering, the test on the profanity filter has shown that disabling it really does let people swear in your reviews. BRING ON THE PAR-TAY!!! No? Oh well, sorry.

Now I know it works, and you know I know it works, and I know that you that I know, and all that other page filling CRAP, I'll just introduce something from another story.

It's working with one of my Starfox stories, Spirits Arise, so it may just work for this one too. If you don't like it, just tell me it's crap and I'll cut it out. So here we go...

**The Story So Far...**

_(This is four chapters, in several different paragraphs, so just bear with me...)_

In chapter one, Ratchet had just finished saving planet Merdegraw from hoards of undead, robot pirates and is eager to find Clank. He has a run in with the mysterious Fenna, who tells both him and Talwyn that Ratchet wasn't the last Lombax left in that dimension and that the Zoni are dangerous.

Back at the ships, they meet Kai and Tessa Swordsmith, old friends of Talwyn's. They sisters (twins) then join the little group, on the understanding that Talwyn helps them out afterwards.

In chapter two, we learn about some of Talwyn's past adventures with the Swordsmith sisters, and Ratchet offers to lend a hand to the twins after they save Clank.

Meanwhile, Clank is having hallucinations about past events, as a side-effect of a reboot, caused by the Zoni. He witnesses first, Ratchet being tasered by his foster mother, then the Lombax's first kiss.

When he wakes up, Clank is introduced to the phyco-bitch herself, Zee. She then electrocutes him, blowing his main fuse and forcing him to reboot again.

In chapter three, Ratchet, Talwyn, Tessa and Kai set down outside the Zoni stronghold. The twins reveal that Clank is in more danger than they thought, and one wrong word to the wrong person would get him torn to pieces.

Clank, in the meantime, had another vision, this time about two young Lombaxes and their small, china doll-like robot. Then he awakens and hears the song that Ratchet and the gang use to get in.

In chapter four (finally! The end is nigh!), Talwyn and Kai are crawling through the ventilation system, while Ratchet and Tessa have abandoned it and are having a little heart to heart.

Clank, still waiting to be rescued, sees that the Zoni may have killed (or at least injured) Ratchet's childhood friend. Talwyn then drops in on him (literally). Kai stabs the glass case, and is left stood there while Talwyn calls the others, alerting them of the change of plans.

Will Ratchet and Clank finally be reunited? Will Nefarious's troops make an appearance? Will all of our heroes make it out of there alive? Find out now, with Mage Tales 1: The Discovery, Chapter five.

OK, I admit, that one was LONG! But it WILL be shorter next time.

* * *

The alarms were blaring all around them as they dashed down the corridor. Clank was firmly wrapped in Talwyn arms, while Kai ran beside her.

"I thought you could stay still for longer than that!" Talwyn yelled above the din.

"Usually, yeah," Kai replied. "But you try playing statues when you've got this evil itch on your inner thigh!"

This caused the brunette to burst out laughing. "Sorted it out then?"

"Yeah, ta!"

Then, over the comn. link, Ratchet yelled at them. "Why do they explode when you hit them?!?"

"Oops," Kai called to Talwyn. "I almost forgot about him."

"You WHAT?!?" Talwyn yelled back.

Ignoring her friend, Kai unhooked her radio transmitter from it's place on her left hip, flicking the switch onto 'public' before replying.

"Sorry, forgot to warn you; they turn to blue mush when you kill them!"

"Thanks for the warning," Ratchet replied, obviously not happy.

Kai then flicked the switch to 'private' and called down it, "Tessa, it's Kai. How's it goin' down there?"

"Just under a third of the way done." Tessa said.

"Under a third? What the hell are you doing, Tessa, playing tick-tack-toe with the main-frame?!?"

"I didn't have enough time to make the bombs beforehand, Kai. I can't just stick a bunch of wires and a detonator fuse on a wall and hope it blows up!!!" Tessa was getting annoyed now. They heard her take a deep breath, then carry on in a calmer voice. "So, is the little guy okay?"

"Clank? He says he is, but I'm not so sure."

"I hope they didn't let HER get ahold of him." They heard Tessa shudder with fear. "That would be physical AND psychological torture."

"Get on with your bombs. We'll catch up with Ratchet." Kai switched the radio to 'off' and put it back in it's place. "Not far now, just a couple more turns."

* * *

Ratchet side-stepped another bolt of lightening. The Zoni were closing in on him, and there was no way for him to tell when they were going to strike him from behind. Several of them had rushed by with their mouths open and taken small chunks out of his arms, legs and back.

"That was close," he muttered, swinging his wrench in a diagonal direction. It connected with several Zoni, who exploded on contact. Blue mush sprayed everywhere, including all over Ratchet. The Lombax, who normally a pleasant golden yellow, was starting to go decisively blue.

A small cry of disgust came from the other side of the wall of little, blue-and-black bugs. Ratchet's long ears twitched. That sort of sound was something he'd expect to hear from Tessa, but that voice belonged to...

Kai sliced through a small block of Zoni in front of the Lombax, charging through the gap to stand next to him. She flashed him a dirty look. "I rather like to actually KILL a Zoni before I get covered with their guts!"

Talwyn shot a separate gap through the wall of enemies. She slipped through and attached Clank to the socket on Ratchet's back. "I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that."

"That's how Tessa deals with me. A lot," Kai flashed them a grin, then slashed a Zoni that got about an inch from Ratchet's ear.

"Clank?" Ratchet daren't look back, just in case the familiar weight wasn't really there. He didn't listen to the nerves in his back that were telling him that cold metal was pressed to his open wounds, just in case they were lying. He almost couldn't get the nerve up to speak, just in case there was no reply. At this point, with the hope he had, if Clank wasn't there, he would be crushed.

"I am here, Ratchet." The simple joy of being re-attached to Lombax's back made Clank forget the horrible ordeal he'd been in for the past few days. Okay, they had their fights, but Ratchet had been the little robot's first friend.

Their happy little reunion was interrupted by about a million Zoni all shrieking in disgust.

Kai ducked under another lightening bolt. "They ain't happy!"

"Ya think?!?" Ratchet jumped out of the way of a small pack of Zoni as they charged towards him, only to have Clank lift him out of the way of a second swarm. "Woah! Thanks Clank!"

"Tow, get down!" Kai pushed Talwyn to the ground just before the Zoni zapped her.

"This is getting ridiculous," Talwyn yelled above the din of enraged bug things. "Where's Tessa?"

Kai grabbed her transmitter, put it on 'private' and pressed the button. "Tessa, how's it going down there?"

"I've lost the red wire!!!"

Ratchet shot a panicky look at Talwyn, who looked despairingly at Kai, who rolled her eyes. She pressed the button again. "Tes, does the colour REALLY matter?"

There was a long pause. Then Tessa replied, "Sorry, had a moment of frantic idiocy back there. I'll be done in a few minutes. Can you hold out 'til then?"

Kai glanced, first at Ratchet, then at Talwyn. Both nodded at her. "Sure, just be careful."

"Will do, sis!"

Talwyn gasped. "Why are they moving back?!?"

It was true. They were moving back. Worried, Kai looked around her. "Oh shit..." She dived at Ratchet, knocking him down.

The second they hit the ground, a ball of energy flew through the air, right where Ratchet's head had been. Standing up and glancing around, the Lombax saw what the Markazian had seen. Zee, the phyco woman with blue pupils. He turned to Kai.

"You're scared of a blind girl?"

The 'blind girl' promptly aimed, very precisely, at the base of his tail, and shot blue fire at it. Ratchet jumped about two feet in the air, yelping in pain, patting out the flaming fur.

"Now, now, firework boy," Zee giggled insanely. "Don't believe my eyes. I never agree with them."

With that, she unleashed fiery fury on the three of them. Kai ducked a shot aimed at her head, and pressed a button on a little device attached to her arm. The P.A.S. started pouring strains of 'Toxic' by Mark Ronson.

"_Baby can't you see,  
I'm callin?  
A girl like you,  
Should wear a warnin.  
It's dangerous,  
I'm fallin..."_

Zee, who was a music hater, screamed in anger and disgust, then threw a fireball at Kai, who rolled out of the way, sliding her katana back into it's scabbard.

"_Ooo nigga I'm burnin up!"_

Ratchet covered his ears to protect his delicate ear drums from the scream, then had to jump to the side to avoid more blue flames. Clank then engaged his Heli-Pack again and lifted him above another ball of flames.

"_There's no escape,  
I can't wait!  
I need a hit,  
Baby give me it!  
You're dangerous,  
I'm lovin it..."_

Talwyn jumped backwards to avoid a blast of energy, activating her Thruster-Pack to gain some altitude. As she travelled forward again, she felt several tiny, stab-like feelings on her tail. She looked around and saw that a Zoni had attached itself to her tail by it's teeth. "Ah!" She flicked her tail in a vain effort to dislodge it. "Get OFF!"

"_Enough ta make a nigga go crazy,  
Shut down the Grammy's ask mah granny.  
Wu-Tang for the kids, but your host can't stand me,  
Wu-Tang for the kids, bust them off for family.  
Catch me on Disney:  
'Ma, who is he?'"_

"That doesn't work," Kai called, front flipping over a fireball. "Shoot the bastard! Ouch!" A blast of energy clipped her left shoulder, leaving a small slash that bled freely. "BITCH!!!"

"_Down dirty, stinking, grime and grizzly.  
Old man McGirt, lookin under your skirt.  
Fuck a pussy til it's orange, like Ernie and Bert.  
Like, ooo..."_

Ratchet, from his elevated position, took out his Lacerator, which he hadn't used since the business with the Technomites, and took aim. He hit the Zoni with a single shot, and it promptly blew up, covering Talwyn in it's guts.

"_Too high, can't come down,  
It's in my head spinning round and round.  
Can you feel me now?"_

"Thanks, Ratchet. I almost lost my tail there."

"No problem, Talwyn."

"_With a taste of your lips I'm on a ride,  
You're toxic, I'm slippin under."_

Clank suddenly stopped his rotor blades, causing him and Ratchet several inches to avoid a small energy beam. Danger avoided, he started his rotor spinning again.

"_A taste of a poison paradise,  
I'm addicted to you,  
Don't you know that you're toxic?"_

"YOU KILLED ONE!!!" Zee was obviously pissed, and expresses that by firing another energy beam, this time aiming at the Lombax's 'third leg'.

Desperate to save any of his future children, Ratchet pulled out his Shield Charger, activating it just in time. _Come on,_ he thought. _I haven't even used that yet!_

"_Oh, and I love what you do,  
But you know that you're toxic!  
Yeah, I'm burning up from what you do,  
You know that you're toxic!"_

Talwyn got a couple of shots in at Zee. But she just drew her hand across her body, then gripped it in a fist, activating some sort of blue barrier around herself. She then gathered the energy from the barrier and fired it at Kai, who back flipped over it.

"_Like ooo, nigga, I'm burnin up!  
She said, ooo, nigga, I'm burnin up!_

_Meth got the weed, we can burn it up  
I told the DJ, nigga, turn it up!"_

Zee giggled hyperly (A.I: I know hyperly isn't really a real word, but it is in my stories). "You won't win. I'm so devoted to my friends, I gave them my old name."

_Along with your sanity,_ Talwyn added in her head as she ducked under another ball of energy.

Every time her tail moved, the muscles would relax and contract around the teeth, causing her more pain. Unable to take it any more, the Markazian took her tail in hand and started pulling the teeth out.

"_I want a girl that help me take my medication,  
So I don't end up at the police station!  
I don't wanna go back to the police station,  
They tried to send Dirt on a long vacation..."_

Meanwhile, Ratchet was trying to get a shot in with his Predator Launcher, only to have barriers block every single one.

Suddenly, a vent cover fell on Zee, followed a micro-second later by Tessa.

"_Oh, it's getting late,  
To give you up.  
I took a sip,  
From my devil cup.  
Slowly,  
It's takin over me..."_

"Oww..." Tessa slowly got to her feet, looked down, saw Zee, muttered, "Oh shit," under her breath, and dashed over to the others.

Kai embraced her sister for a brief moment, then pushed her back slightly and asked, "And the verdict is?"

"_Too high, can't come down,  
It's in the air and it's all around,  
Can you feel me now?"_

Tessa put both thumbs up. "Ding-ding-ding!"

Ratchet touched down and, new to the way of the Swordsmith twins, looked to Talwyn for an explanation.

"_With a taste of your lips I'm on a ride,  
You're toxic, I'm slippin under."_

Talwyn dashed over to the others, most of the teeth now removed from her tail. "We're ready. Let's go!"

_  
"A taste of a poison paradise,  
I'm addicted to you,  
Don't you know that you're toxic?"_

The main door was now blocked by hoards of Zoni; the only way through was to make one. Ratchet took out his OmniWrench, while Kai re-drew her katana.

"_Ooo, nigga, I'm burnin up!"_

They looked at each other, and Kai flashed him a grin. As one, they rushed forward and started to slash a hole on their road block.

"_She said, ooo, nigga, I'm burnin up!"_

Tessa tugged Talwyn after her, fumbling in one of her many trouser pockets for something. As a small gap opened, she threw a small bomb, covered in a green substance, at the door. It stuck, started to beep, then exploded, taking the doors with it.

"Sticky bombs," she yelled. "The best thing the Lombaxes came up with!".

"_With a taste of your lips I'm on a ride,  
You're toxic, I'm slippin under."_

The four of them ran, full tilt, through the empty doorway, and kept going. They didn't stop until they were back at the landing site.

"You ready, Tes?"

"_A taste of a poison paradise,  
I'm addicted to you,  
Don't you know that you're toxic?"_

"Ready Kai!"

Tessa took a small cuboid made of a clear plastic lid encasing a remote detonator. With a bright red button. She flipped the lid, and hovered her thumb over the button, waiting.

"_Oh, and I love what you do,  
But you know that you're toxic!  
Yeah, I'm burning up from what you do,  
You know that you're toxic!"_

Click!

**BOOM!!!**

The whole building exploded, from the base up, the upper levels falling to the flames as the lower levels collapsed. Out of the flaming wreckage, three fireworks flew into the night sky (A.I: Yes, it is night now.), blowing up in a triangular pattern: the highest one green, the the lower left one white, and the lower right one red.

Clank had detached himself from Ratchet's back, and was now watching the display with everyone else. His reaction was like those of Ratchet and Talwyn: awe, with a hint of relief. Tessa's was one of pride: she hadn't expected the fireworks to work so well, if at all. Kai's was one of dark satisfaction.

Cronk and Zephr started whooping for joy.

"That was the best explosion I've seen since... uh..." Zephr had to stop to think. "Since we fought the Venomous Space Moths of the Cerullean Sector!"

"How did you manage the sparkly lights?" Cronk asked.

Tessa closed her eyes, scratched the base of her neck and fought the urge to blush. "You mean the fireworks? I just put the launchers on the same circuit as the explosives. I was almost worried that the heat would make them go off too soon!" She chuckled lightly.

"As fun as this is," Kai interrupted, "we should leave, just in case anything dangerous survived."

And just like that, everyone went their separate ways. Talwyn flashed Ratchet a sad smile,then headed to her own ship. Kai dashed over to her.

"You'll at least catch a movie with us before you go disappearing on us again."

The brunette said, "Of course! Anyway, we need to catch up."

Ratchet turned to Aphelion, hopping in, then helping Clank up after him. As soon as the cockpit closed, the Lombax sighed.

"Ratchet, do you wish to continue to travel with Miss Apogee?" Clank asked.

"Yeah, but," Ratchet sighed again, "I can't just invite myself along. And we need to get your circuits checked out, see if any real damage has been done."

Aphelion had just started the launch sequence when there was a knock on the cockpit, making Ratchet jump. He turned to see Tessa, smiling sheepishly. Aphelion opened up so they could talk.

"I just thought I'd say goodbye properly," Tessa explained. "I liked working with you. And I think that Clank's rather cute."

"Why, thank you Miss," Clank interjected.

"Oh," Ratchet picked Clank up. "Clank, this is Tessa Swordsmith. The girl that looks almost exactly like her is her twin, Kai."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Swordsmith."

"Enough of that," snapped Tessa. "It's Tessa. Or you'll get me and Kai in a right muddle." She chuckled good naturedly. Clank found himself joining in. Then she sobered up. "Just a warning though, Ratchet. The Zoni may be deadly, but those who follow them, blind or not, knowing or not, can be just as dangerous."

"Tessa! Will you hurry up?!?"

"I'd better go," Tessa said. "She doesn't waist time if she can avoid it. I hope we see you two again soon."

She embraced, first with Clank, who she picked up for a moment, then with Ratchet, who leaned out to get his arms around her waist.

"TESSA!!!"

The Markazian turned to her ship. "I'm comin', I'm comin'!"

Then she jogged over, Clank hopped back in, and Aphelion closed the cockpit and continued the launch sequence. Ratchet glanced down at Clank.

"You want to go with them too, don't you?" When the little robot nodded sadly, he sighed and rested his head on one of hand. "I should've asked..."

* * *

No-one spoke for a good few minutes as the ship climbed. Then, as they were leaving the atmosphere, Ratchet picked Clank up again, and just held him. The small robot looked up as tears hit his head.

"Are you alright, Ratchet?"

The Lombax continued to hold his robotic companion to his chest. "I'm just... so glad you're back... in one piece."

Unfortunately, their embrace didn't last as long as they'd have liked it to have. A sudden, large shake from Aphelion had Clank back in his seat and Ratchet concentrating on the controls.

"Aphelion, the controls aren't responding! What's going on?"

"I am afraid that it is not simply the engines. A large Electro-Shock Canon just fired a direct hit on my main engines, as well as my auxiliary thrusters, rendering then useless."

"Which means...?"

"Which means," Clank explained, "that with our current position, just above the planet's atmosphere, and incorporating in the fact that we are still, very much, affected by the planet's gravity, there is approximately an eighty-four-point-six percent chance that we are about to fall to our deaths."

"Eh-heh... uh... Clank? What's the other fifteen-point-four percent?" Ratchet asked nervously.

"I calculate that there is a fourteen-point-eight percent chance that we will be blown to pieces by enemy fire, a nought-point-five percent chance of being rescued from the fall, and a nought-point-one percent chance of surviving the crash." Clank looked up at Ratchet with terrified eyes. "Ratchet, I am scared. I do not wish to die here."

Ratchet clutched Clank to his chest as they began to fall back to the planet, far below them.

* * *

AUTHOR'S INPUT: Hi hi,

Bum, bum BUUM!!! Cliff-hanger! 24.6Kb.

Sorry this took so long. My grandfather died two weeks ago yesterday, so I was a bit distracted. But the funeral was on Wednesday just gone, so I should be OK from here on in.

I didn't describe Kai's transmitter, did I? Well, remember those CB radios that Bandit and Snowman had in "Smokey and the Bandit"? Well, her radio looks like the bit you press the button and speak into, only with a small, three-way switch on the other side to the button. Complete with curly cable. Tessa has one just like it.

ONTO THE REVIEWS!!!

**Snake of the Rose (SOTR)**

Hey there, Timid! Long time no...review.

I saw the update in my mail and just couldn't pass up another T.V. story. AND it's on Ratchet and Clank. That's awesome!

I have to say, I am extremely delighted on how much your story structure and writing skills have improved. Nay, MULTIPLIED. Very descriptive, short and sweet, and thus very enjoyable. It's been awhile since I've seen anything from you (likewise to me), but this new story is something to definitely look forward to.

-SOTR

_The Snake man is BACK! It's good to hear from you again. I didn't know you were an R&C fan!_

_All I have to say about this review is thank you. It's nice to get some praise for my writing skill every now and again. I know it's been a while since I've updated my Star Fox stuff, but I'm glad you're enjoying this one._

**Shakespeare's Entourage (Shaky)**

Quite good but I was tempted to stop reading at one point. Still, was the whole thing about the glasses that let you see Zoni made up or is it in the next game.

P.S. It's the 7th generation of consoles at the moment.

P.P.S. My TV was not crappy!

P.P.P.S. You add "P" because P.S. stands for Post Script. And I have a feeling that your going to make a comment about it.

_I'd love to know the point you were tempted to stop reading, as an author. And, yes, I made up the bit about the glasses. As far as I know, and as far as Insomniac Games has hinted, the Zoni are misguided good guys in the next game._

_P.S. I realised it was 7th generation once I'd posted it, and changing it afterwards would delay this update even more._

_P.P.S. I'm not saying your's is/was, but the one I played the Xbox 360 on (or, more precisely, WATCHED someone else play the Xbox 360 on) was rather old, and had started to go crappy._

_P.P.P.S. I know that! I do not CARE!!! And I wouldn't have made a comment if you have made a comment if you hadn't put the P.P.P.S.!!!_

**Shadow Shinobi57 (Shadow-kun)**

Okay...I finally got around to reading this. Why I took so long? Because I'm a fucking incompetent asshole lately...There's your profanity filter test! :3 Did it work?

Anyway, like Shaky, I'm not much of a Ratchet and Clank fan. Have only played one game in the series, and I don't even remember which one it was. (Quickly switches his play list on Windows Media Player) I thought it would be fitting to listen to Panic at the Disco while I write this.

Anyway, I make an exception for this story, since I wouldn't normally read a Ratchet and Clank fic. Plus, this makes me nostalgic to my days of first reading stuff on here. I don't wanna fill this up review with unneeded drabble.

I do like how this is going so a good point. It's mysterious on Clank's end, and we get to see what most of us don't see in your average fic: The hero's emotion. Plus, the tension of the mission. All this is mixing into a stew of excellence for my madula oblangata (Did I spell that right?).

I did, however see some grammar errors, I think maybe some spelling and missing words. I won't say it's BAD grammar, (-_- Shaky can maybe tone down the harshness) but a little work could be done. It's nothing that made me sit at my computer and wonder, "What the hell is this entire story?!" No, it was just sentences at a time, and not even major enough for me to not understand it. I got the gist a second or two after reading, if not immediately.

I'm also curious to see if, possibly, this'll be like the others you wrote, with bits of romance thrown in. Again, I'm a Ratchet and Clank noob, so if I'm missing a major pairing here, I apologize.

Great work so far, Timid! Looking forward to more!

Don't stop being prodigious!  
"Whether it's the genre or the substance, The Metal will never be killed!" -Shadow

_YAY SHADOW-KUN!!! (Swoons over him) I don't think you've EVER been a fucking incompetent asshole. But yes, the filter test worked. It should work for The Timid Interviews too._

_YAY Panic! At The Disco! _(^_^)_ You don't have to know everything about the games to understand this. And you can get a ton of info about then from .com/wiki._

_I'm honoured that you'd read my story, even if it's not the sort of thing. And for that, I award you many hugs._

_I'm glad you're enjoying this, but do you really mean Medulla Oblongata? It's just that that's the part of your brain that controls respiration, swallowing, vomiting, urination, and things like that. I'm just checking here._

_I'm sorry about the grammar. I might go through and correct some of it once I've finished the story. But, if you can still understand it, then it's not too urgent. I try to use the right version of a word (such as there, their, and they're), and the right species names._

_There will be some romance, but don't worry about pre-set pairings. Some people favour the Sasha+Ratchet pairing, and I think it's quite cute too. But that's not the pairing here, and that is all I'm saying on that point.._

_I like the little bit under your catchphrase, about metal, and it's true. I LOVE YOU, SHADOW-KUN!!! (For those of you who have no clue what I did that for, Shadow-kun and I are going out, boyfriend-girlfriend, an item, whatever you like to call it.)_

And that's it for now. Thank you for reading this, but be prepared for a long gap, as school starts again in a couple of weeks. But the good news is, the first week will only consist of two days, as we go back on the Thursday, so that's good.

I need to stop blabbering now.

Bye byes,

Timid Vulpine.


	6. Chapter 6

Hi hi,

Holy shit! Is that how long since I updated? Crap, all that coursework I had was piling up. And it got worse, because I went on a school trip over Easter, so no updates then either. Oh well. It should get easier. All my course work's in, so it's just my exams left.

And before any idiots who are reading start chewing me out for my portrayal of the Zoni, remember: I thought this plot line up before I found out the Zoni were the good guys in A Crack In Time. They kidnapped Clank, so I'm thinking "Not good, SO not good." Then we see that they took a shine to an evil pirate dude, so I'm thinking, "These guys are bad guys." I didn't know I was wrong, and I've started so I'll finish. Don't like it? Bite me!

Also, for future reference, I only found out that female Lombaxes (apparently) don't have tails on a trawl around the Ratchet and Clank Wiki (which, FYI, I don't own), so that fact doesn't exist in any of my R&C stories. For all those picky bastards.

And a quick apology for my deteriorating language. I... Wow, I can't even remember why my language has deteriorated since my last post.

Enough drabbling! On with the show! I mean story.

**The Story So Far...**

_(Only one chapter this time, so it should be shorter.)_

Together, Kai, and Talwyn got Clank out, and met up with Ratchet in the main room. There, they engaged in combat with swarm upon swarm of Zoni, and met with Clank's tormentor, Zee. They eventually get out, blowing the building up in the process, and then went their separate ways.

Ratchet and Clank, whilst trying to make their own way off the planet, were hit by a mysterious blast, disabling the engines. We left them plummeting back towards the planet. What was that blast? Will they survive? If they do, what will they do? And who the hell is this mysterious Scree? Find out now, with Mage Tales 1: The Discovery, Chapter six.

* * *

Just as Ratchet became certain that they were about to die, they stopped a with a sudden jolt and a _CLANG_. Looking up, he saw that Kai and Tessa's ship, connected to the cable that supported the giant grappling hook that was cradling Aphelion. It had saved their lives.

Slowly releasing his death grip on Clank, Ratchet asked Aphelion to contact the twins. After a few moments, a panicky looking Tessa answered.

"Are you two alright? I mean I saw the beam hit you," she was breathing in little gasps, "and I just screamed! I didn't know what to do! I didn't know..." The poor girl was starting to cry. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

Kai came into the picture, rolling her eyes, and flopped down into the pilot's seat, which was separate from Tessa's seat. If you looked behind the seats, you would see dozens of radars, gadgets and maps, including the controls to the gadget that saved their lives.

"And while she was being terrified for you, I was back there," Kai jerked a thumb over her shoulder, "doing something USEFUL!" She looked at her twin meaningfully, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I get it, I get it! I'm useless!" Tessa looked down at her hands in her lap.

Kai snorted, causing Tessa to look up. "No, just more used to people are falling WITHOUT ships."

At this point, Talwyn joined in the conversation, let in by Clank, who was still a little shaky.

"What the hell happened..?" Talwyn wondered.

Tessa, now no longer crying, tugged a loose strand of hair behind her ear before talking. "Like I told Ratchet, those who follow the Zoni can be just as dangerous as they are."

"Could've given us a better warning..." Ratchet mumbled.

"Like what?" Kai glared at him. "Something like, 'Watch out, someone's gonna shoot you with something we don't have a clue about!' I dare you to deny that you would've thought she was nuts!"

"When you put it like that..." The Lombax gave them a lopsided grin. The small smile he got from Tessa, and the small chuckle from Kai, showed that he was forgiven. "What the hell was that thing?"

"We don't know," Tessa admitted. "We haven't had a ship survive it before."

"Metal pancake, I'd say." Kai said helpfully. "Too compact for even Scree to tell what the hell it was. And she's a good mechanic." She chuckled. "She'll have a field day when she gets a look see."

"If she's got enough time to look at it properly." Tessa said.

"She's got six months of sick leave," said Kai. "Doc says its stress. WAY too much active duty, not enough time to sit and think properly. Not without someone or other telling her about yet another Zoi plot." She shrugged, and her expression turned misty and reminiscent. "The Zoni've destroyed a lot of important things in her life. She's a real fighter, you have to be, but she throws herself into this crap SO hard, and it costs."

"So what's the real reason?"

Kai chuckled at the Lombax again. "She's fed up with playing hero." She paused, then added, "For the moment."

Clank noticed that her fingers were pulling something from underneath her armour. It hung on a thin silver chain. She caught herself before she brought the actual item out.

"We'd better get moving. We could take you back to Ka Fyera. It's in the Dabih Galaxy, but it's probably in completely the wrong direction to where you want to end up."

(A.I: The Dabih Galaxy is mine, but the star name is actually a real star, in Capricorn. Please ask if you want to use the Galaxy. Ka Fyera is also mine,even if the planet might not be real, so ask if you want to use that, too.)

Ratchet couldn't suppress the grimace completely. Kai was right, the Dabih Galaxy was in the opposite direction to Solana. But... if Scree was a really WAS that good a mechanic... and she did seem interesting...

He turned to his robotic companion. "Clank?"

"Why not?" Clank seemed eager to go with them. "I have heard very much about Ka Fyera. I wish to learn more about it."

"Then it's settled!" The Lombax turned back to the twins. "Take us where you will."

"I'll follow you," Talwyn tagged on excitedly.

Kai and Talwyn switched off at the same time. Ratchet leaned back, stretching, and winced. _Don't stretch when you have open bite wounds._ He reached under his seat and broke open a case of nanotech. He sighed in relief as it healed his body from the inside outwards.

"What HAVE you heard about Ka Fyera, Clank?"

Clank thought for a moment, retrieving the information, before he spoke. "It is a tropical planet in the summer, but it often snows in the winter. The majority of the population are Markazian, but the range of species is wide. There is a holiday called 'Recuerdo de los Muertos' the day before Halloween."

"Sounds lively," Ratchet muttered under his breath.

Clank went on unperturbed, as he hadn't heard the Lombax. "It is said to be divided into three... territories, made up of neutral neighbourhoods, and the modern bases for two... well, religions, really, called the Scathes and the Zoi."

"Well, we know what the Zoi are all about." Ratchet snorted as he rubbed his still sore back. "How about the Scathes?"

"I do not know," the small robot admitted. "Not much is known about the Scathes, other than they almost always seem prepared."

"Prepared? Prepared for what?"

Ratchet's question went unanswered, as at that moment, Kai popped up on the comn. screen.

"Hold on to your bits, boys, we're jumping."

Ratchet nodded. Jumping was, of course, universal slang for hyper-speed travel.

Then Tessa's voice came from off screen, saying, "We've never jumped with someone in tow before. It could get pretty bumpy. You may want to hold on."

"Like your lives depend on it," Kai said, winking to make sure Clank got it was a joke. She then switched the comn. off, and the space just ahead of the twins' ship started going pink and purple.

Ratchet buckled himself in. Clank did the same, then smiled happily up at the Lombax, who grinned back. They were just happy to be back in each others' company as friends.

* * *

Tessa had been right. The jump had been bad. Really bad. Ratchet felt as if his his brain had swapped places with his heart, as well as his bladder (unfortunately upside-down) with his stomach. Clank felt like someone had stuck his battery pack in the wrong way up and replaced his eyes with mismatched bulbs.

"Well... That was..." Ratchet placed a hand to his forehead to stop the pounding, his other arm pressed against his stomach in an effort to stop himself from being sick. "...That was Hell!"

"It is... the fastest way..." Clank was having trouble with his voice box. His companion gave him a gentle whack on his back to sort the problem out. "Thank you. As I was saying, it is the fastest way to travel long distances, as you know."

"I know," Ratchet grumbled. "But I'll be buggered if I do that again on a tow line." He cleared his throat and asked, "Aphelion, where are we?"

Aphelion was silent. The Lombax pushed a few buttons. No lights, no sounds, no response.

"It seems as though the blast bay have damaged the ship's main power supply." Clank mused. "Our communication with our travelling companions, as well as Kai's warning, must have drained our reserve."

"But why didn't she tell us?"

"Scanning a ship takes more power than you imagine." The small robot looked out of the cockpit to ascertain their location. "She would not have run a diagnostic if the reserve was down below 65 percent."

"So, we're gonna run out of air soon, right?" Ratchet wasn't panicking. If Clank was organic, and he didn't have this damn headache, he might have been. But he wasn't, and he did, so panic didn't really have a chance.

"Not before we arrive," said Clank, gesturing out the cockpit to their right.

Ratchet looked. "Whoa..."

* * *

Talwyn jolted against the seat harness with a small 'oof' as her ship completed the jump. She flicked a stray strand of hair out of her face, then tried contacting Ratchet. No response. Instantly,panic fluttered in her stomach, but she forced it away.

Looking back, she saw them, still attached to the twin's ship. There were no lights on, but she could see them moving inside. "Whew..." She turned to her Warbots. "Cronk, Zephyr, are you guys OK." She knew they were, but it was tradition.

"Fine, Miss Talwyn!" Said Zephyr called.

"My head came off again!" Cronk complained. "Other than that, I'm fine."

Talwyn chuckled. Just then, the twins opened a comn. link.

"Check those two are alive for us, will you?" Kai asked. "They're not responding to comn. hails."

"They're alive," Talwyn replied. "I can see them moving in there. I guess they lost power when they got hit."

"I haven't seen a blast like that since the Great War," Zephyr reminisced, "when the Cragmites brought out the Electronic Pulse Beam. Destroyed half the fleet before we worked out what was happening!"

Kai raised her eyebrow at Talwyn, who shook her head. Both knew it was utter drivel, but they didn't really want to hurt the old Warbot's feelings. Tessa went as far as saying, "We'd all be a lot wiser if we listened to you more often."

"Don't," Kai said in a world-weary kind of voice. "You'll make his head swell so much it'll explode!" The girls all chuckled as Zephyr sulked. Then Tessa started bouncing excitedly.

"What?" Talwyn asked, continuing to chuckle at her friend's actions.

Kai burst out into proper, but not too intense to talk, laughter, as she went round behind her twin and placed her hands on the bouncing girl's shoulders to stop her. "She's just weird. She's excited we finally get to keep our promise to you."

The brunette blinked. "Promise? What promise?"

"Remember when we were fifteen and you were eight?" Tessa asked, starting bounce again and making Kai increase the pressure to pin her butt back down to her seat.

"Nine," Talwyn corrected. "My birthday's before yours." Her brow wrinkled and her nose scrunched up as she tried to remember the time they were talking about. "You... I..." Her eyes closed and she made a quiet sound of frustration.

"If I remember rightly," Cronk mused, "you were nine years old when we first met the twins, here."

"Of course!" Talwyn exclaimed. "When you first came to the Apogee Space Station! I showed you all sorts of stuff there, and you said, 'one day, we'll have to...'"

"Show you OUR home!" Tessa finished,too excited to wait. "And that's basically where we're going."

"What...?" The brunette wondered if they were being cryptic, or if she was just being dense.

Kai sighed. "Look outside your cockpit. Just to your left slightly. You'll see what we're talking about." She rolled her eyes. "Sometimes I swear you're naturally blond."

Talwyn grinned at the casual insult before doing what she was told. And then her jaw dropped slightly. And her eyes widened. And Cronk and Zephyr whispered, in unison, "Whoa..."

* * *

The planet Ka Fyera was beautiful. Gorgeous. Around 40 percent was beautiful cerulean blue ocean, with another 9 percent being rivers and lakes, and the rest being a mix of forests, mountains, beaches, and bustling metropolis, often intertwined with each other. At the centre of the system, two suns orbited each other closely, one red the other an almost golden yellow, which would sometimes produce a double sunrise or sunset on the surface. From space, there where only a few wisps of cloud over the entire planet.

It was a stunning sight. Even for two girls who'd lived there all their lives.

"Whoa..." whispered Tessa, who had stopped bouncing.

"Yeah," said Kai, sitting back down. "Whoa."

The two looked at each other and smiled. They'd made it back from yet another life threatening mission, and where going to set foot back on their home planet once more. An amazing achievement, seeing how many Scathe warriors didn't.

A young, bored looking Markazian soldier popped up on their comn. screen and gave them a lazy salute. "Welcome to Ka Fyera. As you are approaching in a military grade ship, and the ship you are towing won't respond to hails, I must ask you to state your name and business."

"Returning locals, Kai and Tessa Swordsmith," Kai said, then smirked as the soldier fell off his chair. "We're towing a ship that was hit by the Mystery Beam, but survived. Their power is probably out, so they can't respond. The ship to our left is also with us."

The soldier was on his feet again, saluting them properly and quivering with fear. "O-of course, miss Swordsmith! Anything else?"

Kai scratched the back of her neck. "You know this shit better than me, Tess." Then she went to the back of the ship.

Tessa sat up strait and started talking. "We need two docking spaces in segment E-J-01 for immediate use, and one reserved. We also need transport to get the one being towed to TJ's Experts in Gear Grotto, and directions to a shower booth."

"I think we can manage that," the soldier replied.

"Oh, and Private Laxir?"

"Yes, miss?"

"No need to tell Private Whelps about our arrival."

"Of course not, miss."

"We don't want another welcoming party."

"I know, miss."

"Because I don't know if I can persuade Kai not to carry out her threat."

"I'm not stupid, miss. I like my balls where they are. No-one will be there to welcome you in that cheesy, overbearing manner EVER again."

"Is Commander Dixie out of the hospital yet?"

"No, miss."

"Any better?"

"Yes miss. Every time he hears the name 'Kai', he starts strutting around the room like a chicken, making barnyard noises."

"You're right, that is better."

"Yes miss. The nurses don't have to wear hard hats and earplugs any more."

* * *

Ratchet jumped out of Aphelion, bag of clothes on his back, onto a metal transport vehicle, with Clank not far behind.

The Lombax turned to the driver. "Hey! Where is this thing going with my ship?"

"TJ's Experts," replied the driver. "Mechanics in Gear Grotto. Not far from here." With that, the transport started moving, forcing Ratchet and Clank to jump off.

"That was not very polite," said the little robot.

"Where's he taking Aphelion?" The boys turned around to see a confused looking Talwyn approaching, Kai and Tessa not far behind.

Ratchet shrugged. "Some mechanics somewhere."

"TJ's. Got some of the best damn mechanics around," said Kai as she and Tessa caught up. "And the only place that has an expert on Lombax ships."

"Let me guess," said Talwyn. "The mysterious Scree?"

"Yup."Tessa linked one arm with the Markazian's, the other with the Lombax's, while her twin grabbed Talwyn's other arm and scooping up Clank. "C'mon, there's a shower block this way."

"You seriously want to wash this gunk," Kai let go of Talwyn's arm to indicate the Zoni blood in her hair, "out before it dries. You have to cut it out then. Literally."

And so off they went, laughing, joking and generally getting along well. When they got to the shower block, the girls went through the door marked, 'Females', Ratchet went in the door marked 'Males', while Clank opted to wait by a snack machine with Cronk and Zephyr.

Inside, Ratchet found a small changing room with wooden benches and coat hooks all around the walls, more benches in the middle, and a gap in the wall, just enough room for two people to pass each other comfortably, leading to the showers. Near the gap was a shelf with white towels, and a plastic bin for them after they'd been used. There was no-one else there.

The Lombax quickly removed his armour and boxers, grabbed a towel and headed for the showers.

They had dividers to show the boundaries to each shower, and each had an opaque white shower curtain. They also varied in size quite a bit, so Ratchet chose a smaller one. He went in, closed the curtain, dumped the towel in a corner he thought would stay dry, and turned on the water. It started off so cold that he was instantly frozen, but quickly warmed up as he fiddled with the temperature controls.

As the water reached the point where it was almost perfect, he let out a hum of content. For a moment, he just stood there, head back, eyes closed, ears flickering, relaxing in the spray. Then he pressed a button on (he hoped) the soap dispenser, got a handful of liquid soap (_Phew._) and started working on getting rid of the greenish tinge of his fur.

It was hell to get out. Ratchet often had to use his fingernails to loosen it before it started coming off. Kai had been right. If this stuff had dried, he'd have had to shave it off. He shuddered, not just at the thought, but at the memory that reared it's ugly head at the word. Out of habit, he looked over his shoulder. Only the curtain. That done, he turned over his right hand and looked at his wrist.

He'd already cleaned it, so he could see the scar on the heal of his hand where he'd struggled in his foster mother's arms as she'd shaved off the small patch of fur on his wrist.

It was like a birth mark, but it didn't show up on the skin underneath. It was the exact same colour as his stripes. Looked kinda like a small wrench. Ratchet ran his thumb over it as he thought, _What's so wrong with this mark she tried to get rid of it? Is it that it's evil? Or does it prove I'm not hers? Then again, species should prove that..._

He shook his head and finished scrubbing the Zoni blood out of his fur. Then he shut off the water, wrapped the towel around himself, and went to get dressed. _Screw that bitch. I'm fine the way I am._

_

* * *

_

Talwyn emerged from the girl's showers, dressed in a shoulder-less, short-sleeved green top, brown jeans and brown trainers. She'd had to scrap her armour, which was a shame, but the stuff was beyond hope. The Zoni blood stank, and it had already dried into the heavy-duty, bullet-proof fabric, which only made the stench worse. _Oh well,_ she thought to herself. _I'll just have to buy some new, fashionable armour. __Such__ a hardship. Oh no, I'm starting to sound like Tess._

She shook the line of thought from her head and made her way over to join the robots at the snack machine. She stopped a few steps away to watch the unfamiliar, yet oh-so-typical, scene before her.

Kai (now clad in a white crop top with a black outline of a pouting angel, black denim shorts and black, thigh-high boots) was yelling in a language Talwyn didn't understand at the machine, and looked like she was about to start kicking the crap out of it at any moment, while Cronk, Zephyr and Clank watched, too confused to stop her. Her younger friend ran over to try and talk her out of it.

"No Kai. No attacking the snack machine."

"But the bastard thing stole my bolts!"

"I know Kai, but no attacking the thieving bastard machine."

That line of conversation was terminated by Kai utterly ignoring Talwyn (as she always did at times like these) and thumping the machine. Hard. A chocolate bar fell down, along with a fizzy drink.

"Cool," muttered Kai, grabbing her prizes.

Clank watched this, and felt he had to speak up. "Will you not get into trouble for taking them?"

"No, probably not," Talwyn replied. "Doubtless she's got something on whoever owns this thing."

"That, my good friend," said Kai, winking, "would be telling."

Before anyone could ask any prying questions, Tessa and Ratchet turned up, from opposite directions.

Tessa was wearing a white short-sleeve blouse, a grey skirt, a grey waistcoat, and sensible black shoes, a grey handbag slung over one shoulder. Her hair had been let loose from it's tight braid, and now hung like wriggling silk snakes, with a small amount in a loose French braid, held in place by a silver hair clip.

Ratchet wore a green tartan shirt, blue jeans and grey converses. He didn't do anything to his hair, other than towel dry it and come it back down.

"Ready to head off?" asked Tessa. "Oh, Kai! You know you really shouldn't eat that much sugar. You know what you're like on the comedown from a sugar high."

Kai rolled her eyes and sighed. "If you really don't feel safe with these in my possession," she handed her spoils over to her twin. "Ratchet here probably wants to check on his ship, and us girls'll probably visit Kane." As if on cue, Cronk's head fell off. Again. Luckily, Tessa caught it. "For obvious reasons.

"He's a robotics engineer," Tessa explained helpfully to Ratchet. "Didn't Kai say something about getting you checked out, Clank?"

"Yes, I believe she did."

"Then it's settled," said Kai. "Talwyn, Tessa, Cronk, Zephyr, Clank and I will head over to Kane's. Ratchet'll go check on his ship over at TJ's. Then we'll meet up at Cog Fountain. Easy."

"But..." Ratchet looked down at Clank. He didn't think he was ready to leave the small robot yet. "What if-"

"Ratchet," Kai said, putting a friendly arm around his shoulder. "You can trust us. If any Zoi turn up and try anything, us girls'll kick their asses into the next millennium." She winked at him, then pushed him forward, in the direction that everyone else was moving. "Don't stress. Count yourself lucky. You get to meet Scree before Talwyn does, and we've been promising her an introduction for years."

* * *

Gear Grotto was an enclosed courtyard surrounded on all five sides by commercial workshops, with only two pedestrian entrances: one underpass leading to the docks, another leading further into the city. In the centre of the cobbled grotto was a fountain that seemed to be made of three giant cogs, piled up at forty-five degree angles, with a pump spurting water over them as they rotated. Around the fountain was a ring of grass with spokes on the outside like gear teeth, sprinkled with forget-me-nots and daisies.

Most of the workshops had plain billboards, but a couple had simple neon signs. TJ's Experts was one of them, simple green, plain script, one line. And outside the large, glass double doors that were the only entrance at the front, Ratchet stood, nerves eating at his stomach.

_I have to go in_, he thought. But there was a nagging sense of... weirdness? He couldn't place it exactly, but he felt that before he left that building, something was going to happen. He didn't know whether it was good, bad or indifferent, but he knew it was going to be life altering. Maybe a little, maybe a lot. But certainly altering.

"Go on in, Lombie!" Ratchet turned to glare at Kai, who was stood on the other side of the fountain, cheeky smile on her lips. "Before TJ sends someone out to move you along, preferably."

The comment riled the Lombax, and he turned and yanked the door open. He walked inside and glanced around. About a dozen ships were in various states of repair or dismantlement, with several other empty bays waiting for broken or dead ships. In a bay on the opposite side of the workshop, sat on a fork lift stand, was Aphelion.

Aside from a few minor dents from all the crap she'd been through, the lack of power, and three grooves in the paintwork where the grappling hook had grabbed her, she looked like she was in good shape. Someone had already connected her to a power pack, so Ratchet wandered over.

"Hey, Aphelion," he said. "How ya feeling? They been treating you well here?"

"Ratchet!" Aphelion sounded as though someone had turned the volume down on her voice box. "You will not believe who-"

"Heya!"Ratchet turned around to see a Markazian woman, between late 20s and mid 30s, with shockingly red spiky hair, and eyes that were the exact same colour. "I need to plug in a different power pack. It sounds like that one needs some tinkering with."

For a moment, Ratchet could only stare. She was very pale, had delicate a delicate nose (with a red nose stud), and lips that super models get plastic surgery to try and achieve. Her left ear had about a dozen or so piercings, while her right ear only had four: two cartilage, two lobes. When he managed to tare his gaze from her face, he noticed a black t-shirt with an orange motif, black skinny jeans, and black-and-red guitar hi Converses. A plaid turquoise shirt, with 'TJ's Experts' embroidered on the left breast pocket, hung open over the top.

Suddenly Ratchet recognised the design on the shirt. "Iron Fist, right?"

The girl raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Phoenix design. How'd you know?"

Ratchet shrugged and grinned. "I always wanted one as a kid. My foster mother thought it was too morbid."

"And? That's the point of them," the girl laughed. "The name's Quasar. Nicola Quasar. But you can call me Nicco."

"Everybody calls her Nicco." A Markazian with blond, wavy hair that reached her elbows, tied up with a green ribbon, olive skin, and ocean blue eyes walked out of what was obviously a locker room. The pallid turquoise shirt was present here too, so it obviously passed as uniform at this place. Underneath was a pink polo shirt, mauve shorts, flowery pink knee-length socks and, weirdly, brown work boots. But the odd footwear wasn't what held Ratchet's attention the most.

For a start, the girl's tail, instead of being long and flowing with a delicate tip like most Markazian tails, was a stump. It was about five or six inches long, which ended in a lumpy, rounded end. Knowing it was rude to stare at people's deformities, he turned his attention to the girl's other fascinating oddity.

There were soft, green, wispy marks all over her body. They curled along the line of her brow, ran down the sides of her face, branching off to swirl over her cheek bones (stopping a good few centimetres before they reached the bridge of her nose), continuing down to meet below her jaw, crossing over and sweeping along her shoulders, before trailing along her collar bone. Ratchet saw that she had more wisps flowing down the back of her leg and crawling along the centre of her wrists, ending in a dainty swirl on each palm.

The blond let him stare for a moment before twirling slowly, causing the Lombax to blush and look away. "It's okay," she said good naturedly. "Everyone stares when they first see me. The name's Claire Sutton. Thanks for not focusing on the tail."

Nicco leant on a spare fork lift. "You still miss it don't you?"

"Uh, hello," Claire waved at the stub, which flicked in her annoyance. "It was a part of me! I miss it like you miss your leg!"

At Ratchet's curious glance, the other girl rolled up the right leg of her jeans, revealing that the limb from the knee down, was fully robotic. "I'm an albino too. I use contacts and hair dye because..." she paused, thinking. "well, it's just who I am."

"And you two are both cool with being so open with me," said the Lombax. "Why, exactly?"

"Two reasons," the secret albino answered. "One: you survived the mystery beam, so you've earned the right to know a few secrets. And two: you brought in a Lombax ship, which means your either a good mechanic, or you have really good taste."

"And three," Claire said, "you've been friendly, and you haven't asked probing questions. But I would like to know your name."

"My name's Ratchet." He stuck his hand out for Claire to shake, and after she did, he offered it to Nicco.

"Nah," she said, and held her fist out. Ratchet immediately got it, smirked, and bumped his fist against her's. "That's better."

"What's this about a Lombax ship?" Someone stepped through the same door Ratchet had come in by. A female someone. "No-one's touched it, right?"

"Not a finger," said Claire.

"I connected up a power pack," said Nicco.

"Well, I know who to blame if the engine falls out."

"WHAT?" Aphelion sounded worried, even afraid.

Ratchet walked up and stroked her wing. "It's OK, Aphelion. It's OK."

"Sorry. Aphelion, is it." The mystery voice was getting closer. "It's an inside joke. Don't worry, I won't let it happen to you." She tapped Ratchet on the shoulder. "You the owner?"

"Yeah, I-" Ratchet's voice died as he turned as he saw who he was talking to. There, right in front of him, clear as day, real as Aphelion...

... was a Lombax...

* * *

AUTHOR'S INPUT: Hi hi,

Thank Gods! Finally! Finished!

I know that a Lombax isn't much of a surprise for those of you who read my inputs, but look at it from Ratchet's point of view. Tachyon tells him he's the last of his kind (in this dimension), he has no other point of reference, so what's he gonna believe?

Anyway, review time. These are reviews for chapter five.

**Shakespeare's Entourage**

This was a very good chapter especially the cliffhanger, really I thought the Medulla Oblongata had something to do with anger, but yeah I checked wikipedia and that is why you can't breath when being hung by the neck until dead.

You guys are an online couple you are virtual dating, tell me what does Shadow look like, hmm.

Anyway keep going!

_Thanks, Shakey. I liked the cliffhanger too. Nice comment about hanging._

_Also, due to the fact we've had the whole 'online couple' argument, the fact that being reminded of it pisses me off royally, and the fact that you didn't use a capital letter 's' in Shadow's name (which you should with people's names), I will not allow you to use my fic as an advertising media! Bloody cheek!_

**Acuraaquatoslegend**

This story is just better and better. :D

_Thanks, Acuraaquatoslegend._

Bye byes,

Timid Vulpine.


	7. Chapter 7

Hi hi.

I am so sorry I haven't posted in so long. Two years! I have no excuse. Sorry.

And I can't think of anything else to say, so I'll just get on with it.

**The Story So Far...**

Kai and Tessa managed to save Ratchet and Clank, and offered them a lift to a specialist in Lombax ships, which they accepted, with Talwyn following. On the way, Ratchet learns

Once landing on Ka Fyera, Aphelion was taken to a mechanics for repairs, while Ratchet and co. went to get cleaned off. After that, the group split up: Ratchet went to TJ's Experts to check on Aphelion, while everyone else went to get Cronk, Zephyr and Clank checked over by a robotics expert.

Inside TJ's Experts, Ratchet met the cyborg albino Nicola Quasar, and stump-tailed Claire Sutton. He also met a mystery Lombax, who seems to understand a lot about the psychology Lombax ships. Have we finally met the mysterious Scree? What's going on with the others? Will somebody give me a hand summarising this chapter? Find out now, with Mage Tales 1: The Discovery, Chapter seven.

* * *

Talwyn examined her strange surroundings of Circuit Fixers, a place she'd been wanting to visit for years. Since she was a friend of the family, the owner had always met up with her to do regular maintenance checks on Cronk and Zephyr. Unfortunately, things had been hectic for a while, and it was now three years since the veteran war bots had had a check up.

Tools, power cables and miscellaneous tubes hang from ropes attached to the ceiling, dangling within easy reach above three workbenches. The lights were dim, angling the light down, and the floor and walls were unfinished metal, hung with all sorts of old advertising posters, all for robots. "Allergies? Germophobic? Yet you still want a dog? Then the **P00d1e v1.0** is just what you need!" Things like that.

Only one bench was in use. A robotic waiter sat there, it's head slumped forward, it's lower half separate on the table next to it, single wheel pointed upward.

Looking up at it, Clank was hit by an irrational fear. Not so much at the other robot's condition (although that in itself was worrying), but the robot itself. It seemed to have an aura of... well, evil.

As the twins approached the dismantled robot, someone behind it said, "AH! Ya bastard!", and staggered backward as electricity coursed through the robot.

"De-de-de-death to the guardians!" It's hands slid into it's arms, a cheese grater sliding out of one, an electric pizza cutter out of the other. It's single eye flashed between red, to purple, to blue, then back again. "The May-ay-ay-ages must be destroyed! The Z-z-z-z-z-!"

It lurched forward, aiming to slash at Talwyn as it fell. She leapt back, pulling Clank to her chest like a teddy bear. Then she squeaked as it began to drag itself towards her, looking like a zombie crawling out of the grave.

Kai jumped on the robot, pushing it back to the floor. Tessa grabbed a pair of pliers and dove at the open back panel, cutting random wires.

She'd managed to disable the pizza cutter before the robot stuck it into Kai's arm. She swore aloud, then tugged it out, pulling the blade off and throwing it to the side. Talwyn placed Clank on the floor, then sprinted around the workbench to check on the person behind it.

Tessa cried out as the robot drew the grater across her knee. Hard. She dropped the pliers into the robot's chest as blood dribbled slowly down her leg from the wound. Kai swore again and punched it in the head.

At that point, a tan Markazian male with black hair vaulted over the workbench. He stuck his hand in the robot, grabbed the main power cable, and pulled. It's eye went black and it stopped struggling. The twins relaxed and started inspecting their wounds.

The Markazian who'd leapt the workbench stood up, sighed and ran a hand through this short hair. He pulled off a pair of thick-rimmed glasses and sighed, tossing them back where he'd been working. "That is the last time I take a job from near the Zoi-neutral border." He grumbled. "You two OK?"

"I've been better," said Tessa, grimacing as she moved the skin on her knee, inspecting the damage.

Kai glanced at her cut and shrugged. "I've had worse." She went over and pulled the Markazian into a one armed hug. "How you been, bro?"

"Ah, same old, same old," he said, returning the hug, his other hand reaching down to ruffle Tessa's hair. He nodded at the brunette. "Talwyn."

Talwyn smiled and nodded back. "Still taking the homicidal jobs, huh Kane?"

"That is a lie and you know it," insisted Kane. "And I have a bone to pick with you. You promised you would drop in six months after I checked your bots last. Instead, you disappear! And now you decide to come in when the zombie robo-waiter from hell is in for repairs. What happened, Cronk and Zephyr fall apart or something?"

Kai snorted. "Just Cronk. Zephyr's only senile."

"HEY!" Came a voice from outside.

"We heard that!" Came another voice.

"The moment this fool stops kicking my head around, I'm coming straight in there to give you a piece of my mind!"

"Who're you calling a fool, you scoundrel! Take this!"

There was a metallic thud, then, "Ow! There was no need to kick it away like that!"

Kane sighed, let go of his sisters, crossed over to Talwyn and laid his head on the top of her's, sighing again. "What are we gonna do with you, exactly?"

The Markazians chuckled good naturedly, and Talwyn playfully shoved Kane off. She went over and picked Clank, previously unnoticed by the robotics engineer, and placed him on a worktop.

"Before you settle in with those two for the long haul, why don't you start with something quick and simple." She signalled to the robot in front of her. "This is Clank, and he needs a quick systems check to make sure that he's alright. Clank," she turned to the robot, "this is Kane Swordsmith. Kai and Tessa are his little sisters."

"Nice to meet you, Mr Swordsmith." Clank extended his hand.

"Please don't call me that," said Kane, taking the robot's hand. "It's Kane. Now," he released Clank's hand, bringing both of his own together in a decisive clap, "let's see what we've got to work with here."

* * *

Scree was a patient woman, most of the time. Well, when it mattered. She could wait for a landslide to settle so she could scale a particularly high cliff-face. She could wait for a batch of cupcakes, or brownies, or whatever, to finish baking.

She could not, however, wait for Ratchet to ask The Stupid Question Everyone Needs To Ask.

The reason The Stupid Question was making Scree impatient was, in an effort not to appear an idiot, Ratchet wasn't asking it. And the problem with that was, when The Stupid Question arises in someone's mind, they can't think of anything else to say. So Ratchet wasn't saying anything, except to ask her to pass a different scrubbing brush.

They had cleared out all the pieces of Aphelion's engine that were still solid, and had hosed out all the gunk that, as far as they could make out, were melted wires and the acid from the batteries. Now they were scrubbing the intricate workings of corrosive gunk, after scrubbing clean the engine's cavity.

Bored of sitting there in near silence, Scree placed down the things in her hands, and turned to Ratchet. "Will you just ask the Gods damned Question already?"

Ratchet visibly flinched, but his voice was calm and casual. "What question?"

Scree sighed. Why did they all seem to act like this? "The Question! The Question that is dominating your mind, driving you nuts, and making you think you're an idiot. You're trying to find a different line of conversation, but trust me, you won't. The sooner you ask, the sooner we can get onto another topic."

Ratchet was determined not to give into The Stupid Question, to think of something else to talk about. Even if Scree was right, even if he did have a mental block on other subjects. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Ratchet," said Scree. "Ratchet, look at me." She waited until he'd complied before she continued. "I'll give you this much, your tougher than most of the shmucks who've walked through those doors and been confronted with the impossibility of me. But unless you ask The Question now, it will build and build, until you finally explode with it. Probably in front of Kai. And you don't have a clue how ruthless she actually is."

Ratchet winced at the thought. "And you won't get offended?"

"Nah, I'm used to it."

"Well, um, Scree..?"

"Yes?"

Ratchet had to swallow before he continued. "...Are you really a Lombax?" Wince.

Scree grinned, her peridot eyes sparkling. _Finally!_ "Yes Ratchet, I am."

Ratchet blinked. The urge to question her on her species sated, he noticed three things: Firstly, he didn't feel as stupid as he thought he would. Secondly, peridot was a very pretty shade of green for eyes. And finally, he realised Scree was stunningly beautiful. Honey yellow fur, tangerine stripes, elegant ears, sparkling eyes, cute nose, delicate frame and tail, yet an athletic figure... and that was just a few physical features he picked out when glancing at her. She wore the same teal shirt that the other girls, as well as green shorts and white trainers.

Both Lombaxes went back to work, and a pleasant conversation started up.

"So, how did you meet the twins?" asked Scree as she scrubbed at a stubborn stain on the piece she was cleaning. "Jeez, did no-one ever clean this engine? Disgraceful," she muttered.

Ratchet held his piece up to the light, checking how clean it was. "They were just... there. To ask Talwyn a favour. But she was helping me, they tagged along, and we ended up helping each other." He glanced at the other Lombax. "What about you?"

"Long time ago..." Scree paused, causing him to look back at her. "It's not my place to say why... but I met them when they tried to run away. They snuck out with their brother. Ended up at this big carnival. Just out there actually." She chuckled quietly, motioning with her head. "They looked terrified. They'd never-"

As her sentence cut off, she looked up into Ratchet's confused eyes. "They'd never what?"

Scree shook her head. "Not my place to say. Their past is their past. If they want to tell you, they will." Quickly changing subject, she asked, "So what did they help you with?"

"Getting my friend back. A robot called Clank. The Zoni took him." Ratchet gulped. He still felt the fear for the little robot. Especially since he found out what the Zoni were capable of. "I don't know why they took him." He looked at Scree again, and saw the vaguely horrified expression on her face. "What's wrong?"

"Tell me something," she said urgently. "Did Clank ever say he could see them, before they took him?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"A Seer!" Scree muttered.

Ratchet shook his head, confused. "A what?"

"A Seer is someone who can see those who live off of spiritual energy, like the Zoni, even if they're in Spirit Form," She calmly explained.

Ratchet looked sceptical. "Spiritual energy? Spirit Form? Are you some sort of religious nut or something?" He instantly regretted his words. Mocking her potential religion could burn the bridge to the only other Lombax he knew of. He mentally prepared himself for a stinging slap to the face.

Which is why she completely surprised him when she burst out laughing. "I don't blame you! A lot of people who know about this stuff are utter nutters. But no, it's nothing religious, at least not to me." She shook her head. "No, it's like... a chemical reaction, I guess. But it involves emotions instead of chemicals. When you feel a strong emotion, like happiness or sorrow, a certain amount of spiritual energy is released. The stronger the emotion, the more energy is released."

"So, the Zoni get energy when we feel emotions?" Ratchet wondered why the Zoni seemed so... mean.

Scree rinsed off the engine part she'd been cleaning. "Well, basically, yeah. But there are a couple of different types of spiritual energy. The Zoni feed off of the type that gets created by negative emotions, like sorrow and hatred and pain. Their sole purpose is to become all powerful, then to end the universe, so no-one can ever become more powerful than them. And they..." She stopped and swallowed, her expression slightly pained and disgusted.

Ratchet was almost too afraid to ask her to continue, but his natural curiosity was getting the better of him. "And they... what?"

Scree bit her lip before continuing, her expression full of sorrow. "...The soul is the epicentre your emotions, right?" Ratchet nodded, and she continued. "The Zoni have a way of... it's known as Extraction. The soul is... forcibly removed from a person. In that moment, the soul is racked full of pain, and the Zoni... keep the soul aside and... and feed off of it. The body becomes nothing but a cross between a puppet and an empty shell. It's... vile. Disgusting. Terrifying."

Her expression was one of horror and fear at the act she'd just described. Ratchet was ashamed he'd made her talk about it, so he quickly back-peddled away from the subject. "You said ' those who live off of spiritual energy'. There are others? And what IS Spirit Form?"

Long lashes met as Scree blinked, not quite sure where the questions came from at first. "Huh? Oh yeah, the others. They're the Scatheen. They live off of positive emotions, like happiness, passion..." Her expression turns sentimental. "Love. The people who follow them are known as the Scathes. I'm one of them." She shook her head, clearing away the old memories. "And as for Spirit Form, it's a form they can take when they don't want to be seen by your average person."

"Clank said something about you guys!" The male Lombax's eyes brightened as one of the nagging questions he'd been asking was at least partially answered. "He said you were always prepared, but he didn't know what you were prepared FOR."

She smiled at him. "Your friend is one well-informed cookie."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

He sighed. "What are you prepared for?"

At this point, Nicco came over with two mug of coffee. "The Zoni's every attempt to rise to supreme power. What else?" She handed a mug to Scree, "Milk, two sugars," and one to Ratchet, "I went for the standard for you: milk, one sugar."

Ratchet took the mug and sipped at it. "Thanks, it's perfect, actually."

"Thanks, Nicco." She takes a sip, then puts it to one side. "Gimmie a yell when the twins get in. I have a job for Kane."

Nicco leant against the forklift. "What job?"

"An AI that could do with some TLC. The battery casing and all the wires are melted, so at the very least, she's gonna be distressed." Scree picked up the last piece in need of scrubbing.

Nicco nodded. "You do realise there are two robots out there playing football with one of their heads."

(A.I: That's soccer for you yanks.)

"I, uh, know them," Ratchet admitted. "Cronk's neck is... loose."

"I thought as much," said Nicco, then sauntered away. A comfortable silence settled over the two Lombaxes as they finished cleaning, then started putting the engine back together.

"So... Is Scree short for something? Or is that it?" Ratchet asked, eager to know more about the attractive Lombax he was working with.

"Try not to laugh. It's short for Sacaree. Sacaree Integen." Her ears picked up the chuckle that Ratchet tried to conceal. "I knew you would laugh. It seems ridiculous in a modern society, but it means 'Little Warrior' in old Lombax."

He looked confused at that. "Old Lombax?"

"Yeah. You don't think our language didn't change and evolve as we met new, interesting and sometimes dangerous new species?" Then she winced slightly. "Sorry. I forgot, you've not grown up around Lombaxes. You won't know the language. It's just... you seem so easy around me, so easy to be around."

Ratchet smiled at her and her words. "Thanks. You're easy to be around too." He then turned his attention to the engine. "Looks like we'll need three new batteries, all new wires, and a couple of new pistons."

Scree looked over the engine as well. "And a new ignition system. That one's never gonna work again. Damn. Getting suitable ones for Lombax ships is tricky." She unbuttoned her teal shirt to reveal a white vest underneath.

"Well, there's someone I can ask," said Ratchet, thinking of the Smuggler. "...If I can find him."

Tightening a screw, Scree shook her head. "Nah, I know where to get one. It's just gonna be a bit... expensive. We have new batteries and wires in the back, and I can salvage the pistons from one of the dead ships if we don't have any in reserve."

At that point, a male voice spoke up behind them. "YOU should be on your lunch break."

Sighing as she turned, Scree smiled at the Cazar who was looming over her. "Hey TJ. I did leave earlier, then I heard about Aphelion and came back."

TJ sighed. He too was wearing the teal shirt which was the uniform, a pair of jeans and black shoes. "We've discussed this, Scree. You can't keep working through your lunch breaks. It's not healthy!"

Scree raised her hands in surrender. "I'll go! I'll go." She got up and walked to the locker room.

TJ then turned to Ratchet. "I'm guessing you're gonna help her fix your ship?"

"Well, I was hoping to..." Ratchet scratched behind his ear, unsure of himself. "Is that a problem?"

Chuckling, TJ shook his head. "Not at all. We just do this deal where, if you help, you just pay parts and overheads. Labour's free."

"And I was helping with the twins' ship so much," Scree added as she came back with a leather handbag, "TJ figured it was cheaper to hire me. Which is why I work here." She pulled Ratchet to his feet. "Come on, I'll source the parts, then we can get lunch."

"But I'm supposed to be meeting Clank out by the fountain! He could be out there any second!" Ratchet didn't want his best friend to be left waiting for him again. Not this soon.

"Well, why don't I get the parts, and you get some take-out? Then I can drop the parts back here, then we can eat out on the grass," suggested Scree.

"...Good idea." Ratchet smiled at her. "What do you want?"

"Hmm... I know a good pizza place."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Lets go then." Scree waved to TJ as she led her fellow Lombax out the door.

TJ waved and sighed. "If Scree trusts him to work on a Lombax ship, I can tell I'm gonna end up hiring him, too."

Claire stepped up beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. "At least we'll have another person who doesn't make engines spontaneously fall out of ships."

_CRASH!_

Nicco's cry of "I'll fix that! I'll clean it up, then I will fix it!" only made TJ's sigh more exasperated.

* * *

AUTHOR'S INPUT: Hi hi,

Again, sorry this took so long. Life just got in the way.

So, yeah. That's the chapter. Sorry it's so short.

Now for the reviews for chapter 6. Actually, make that review.

**SilverDragonXIII**

I very much like what you're doing here, in fact I think you should change your user name. There's no need to be timid, get out there and show the world what you can do! True the grammar could use a little work here and there, but I'm really liking this story. Reading it can take the edge off a very trying day for me and overall, as I keep saying, I enjoyed it. I found pieces of it a little iffy, however most of that comes under grammar and my years spent deprived of a good session on any Ratchet and Clank game. Whatever the case my point still stands, it's good and getting better so keep it up!

I'll be rooting for you. Take care

_Thanks SilverDragonXIII._

_I know the grammar isn't spectacular all the time, I've recently re-read it (to remind myself where I'd gotten to), and I'll eventually redo them. Probably when I've finished this series._

_Shame you haven't played R&C, but not everyone has._

_Glad you're enjoying it._

Thanks to all who read this.

Bye byes,

Timid Vulpine.


	8. NOTICE

Hi hi!

Sorry I haven't been updating! And I'm sorry this isn't a proper update either! I've been sort of... busy.

The reason this story hasn't been updated was some minor writer's block (I knew where I was going, but I didn't know how exactly to get there), but I have gotten past that part. However, during that fictional limbo, I became slightly dissatisfied by the story so far. A little with the plot, but also how I put parts of it together. So I'll be going back and having a tinker with that.

For a start, I will be going back and correcting some of the grammar (at which point I hear the Nazis of the Net rejoice).

Another thing, the Lombax+robot dance scene will be replaced. I've thought of a better way to use the robot, and the scene doesn't fit. Sorry if you liked it.

Plus, Ka Fyera will now be moving to the Polaris Galaxy. I haven't decided what the sector will be called (suggestions on a post-card. Or in a review), but it seems easier than having an entirely new galaxy.

And the cousin won't be used. No real loss there.

Now, some of you might be yelling "What about your Star Fox stories?!"

To be honest... I've lost inspiration. I may come back to later, but I can't guarantee it... Sorry!

Anyway, that is my message! This will be taken down when I put the next chapter goes up.

My apologies for the massive delay on everything.

Bye Byes,

Timid Vulpine.


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